Two Minutes
by Sandsstill
Summary: What happens when you know everybody and you are the one who is a constant mystery? Nicholas Wilde is about to discover that every advantage has an inevitable downside that could cost you more than just your pride. Or could the light at the end of the tunnel be when everyone sees exactly who you really are.
1. Chapter 1

Hiya peoples! (Ooh, can't you just hear the Hick in that?) Anywho, I have no idea how all this works and am not terribly inclined with technology. This is a test run of sorts to see if I can figure out how everything works and start submitting other stories. I have hundreds of chapters and stories with just these characters. I have been writing for a very long time, but never had the urge or desire to share any of my work because…Hmmm, how would you put it?" _Never let them see they get to you_ would be pretty good. No, insults, criticisms, flat out disgust would not bother me. I don't get my feeling hurt to easily. I believe the reason I am finally putting things out is because I have a story I have set everything else aside for and want to finish it. (Hopefully before I die!) This is a great place to get feedback on things I need to work on. There are Gods among the writers in this community, and I will happily listen to anything anyone who is reading my drabble will leave and try to respond to it. On that note- This was an unusual or dare I say was difficult to write story. Trying to have more than a dozen character talking at the same time is not an easy feat, hopefully the way I have it set up will work. But if it doesn't –DO TELL! And Hopefully, have fun reading! Sandsstill

Disclaimer; I do not own Zootopia or any of it's characters.

 **Two Minutes**

In the early hours of the morning officers have gathered before their shift in the bullpen where a heated debate has been going on for several months. A debate that is becoming the most talked about issue in the halls and ranks of the ZPD's first shift. The question being pondered; Why?

"No it's not Pennington…" said Fangmeyer.

"Yes it is Fangmeyer, and stop calling me Pennington, my name is Francine. I'm one of the only female officers here on day shift besides Hopps and unlike her I have no desire to be clumped into the 'boys' club" Francine complained.

"If you really believe that then you are as crazy as the peanuts he filled your cruiser with" Wolford said.

"Come on, he never does anything that actually hurts anybody" Francine said.

"No- it's just really annoying, and tell that to Clawhauser" Fangmeyer stated flatly.

"He _didn't_ hurt Clawhauser" Francine said.

"Do you really want me to explain what happens when you eat three doughnuts thinking they are some new kind of variety?" Fangmeyer argued.

"Only Clawhauser would think _that_ and not realize they were sponges" said Higgins as he rolled his eyes.

"How on earth can that hurt someone?" Francine asked.

"I'm not explaining it Pen- _Francine_ , boy you are a little gullible aren't you?" Fangmeyer stated.

"Hey! It couldn't have hurt him too badly. It sure didn't stop him from eating the extra doughnuts Wilde brought him for the next week after it happened" Francine said.

"Point taken" Fangmeyer replied.

"All I'm saying is that in its own way it's a little sweet" said Francine.

"Tell that to the Chief, I thought Carr- er, Hopps had it bad for a while. I thought she was going to kill him after the carrot sauce incident" said Snarlov.

"Yeah, now everybody calls her Carrots because her fur was brighter than Wilde's for a good two weeks" Francine said.

"I can't imagine how long he was in the dog house after that. No offence Wolford and Snarlof" said Grizzoli.

"None taken- hey, Snarlof? You, McHorn, and Swinton are the only ones he hasn't pranked yet. Any idea why?" asked Wolford.

"Maybe he doesn't like them?" Higgins asked.

"Snarlof- your ears are literally turning red- he did get you didn't he?!" Wolford asked again.

"Ugh…Gotta go guys, see you in ten when the Chief gets here! Bye!" said Snarloff as he rushed from the room.

"That bad?" Delgato asked.

"Or more likely that personal and embarrassing" Grizzoli piped in.

"Yeah, and that's creepy. How that little fox seems to know everything about us to fulfill these gags is disturbing on a level all its own" said Rhinowitz.

"You think he got McHorn?" asked Delgato.

"McHorn doesn't talk, so if he did we'll never know" Wolford said.

"I heard McHorn and Chief are best friends, they graduated the academy together" said Rhinowitz.

"That doesn't mean anything, just a rumor. The guy never talks, never smiles-nothing. And no one has ever seen them outside of work, together or alone" said Grizzoli.

"So what do you think was the funniest one?" Rhinowitz asked.

"Wolford-definitely Wolford" Delgato smiled.

"Oh yeah? It couldn't have been better than when he put catnip in the cruisers air conditioning system. Never saw you so happy. I might actually like working with you more often if you were like that every day. What? The stuffs not illegal and you were in a good mood all day" replied Wolford.

"That was _not_ funny" said Delgato.

"C'mon! Admit it, you were in a good mood, and it was right after your apartment flooded too!" Wolford chuckled.

"All right, I'll give him that" said Delgato.

"That about killed you didn't it pal" asked Grizzoli.

"The coop prank was funnier though Wolford" said Delgato.

"No it wasn't" said Woldford.

"Have you ever seen a wolf yelp, whine, scream, fall backwards on their rump and curl into a ball at the same time? No your right it wasn't funny, it was a hilarious" laughed Delgato.

"There were 30 birds stuffed into my locker! They all flew out at me when I opened the door. I was surprised!" Wolford growled.

"Noooo- scared is a better word buddy" Delgato laughed again.

"Shutup!" Wolford barked.

"See there's my point! One was a canary and for some reason it liked you and you got a pet out of it" Francine said.

"You might think its sweet Francine, but how did Wilde know his childhood pet had died to begin with? And why did that bird come to him like it did, it was like the thing was trained or something. Landed right on his nose and let him pick it up too! It's not normal" said Higgins.

"Is anything that red fox does normal?" asked Trunkaby.

"Come on guys, we don't know for sure he's the one doing all of it" said Francine.

"Get real Francine, the pranks didn't start until _after_ he got here, and there are a few other questions to answer too. How does he do it? The mess magically disappears after the prank is over, no one ever sees him pulling anything, or cleaning it up. I'm pretty sure the only reason he hasn't gotten fired yet is because the Chief can't prove it's him doing it. I mean where's he coming up with the time, not to mention the money to pull all this off" asked Swinton.

"Money?" asked Francine.

"Seriously? Have you been paying attention to the pranks on the Chief, not to mention the price of the birds, peanuts, and who knows what else" Delgato said.

"Truffles" said Swinton.

"What?" They all asked in unison.

"Truffles"- Swinton said out of the blue. "He filled my family pool with truffles. The wife was furious until she realized what they were."

"Wait, he got you at home?! You guys eat those things right- aren't those hard to come by? Your whole pool?" asked Wolford.

"Yea, sort of, and we are pigs; the pool isn't that big or deep" Swinton replied.

"Still… sooooo where's he getting the money and the resources for all this? Or the time?" asked Higgins.

"You really need to ask? The guy knows everybody" said Wolford.

"Everything he does is harmless though. Never hurts anybody, never leaves a mess, everyone seems to end up getting something out of it" said Francine.

"Tell that to the Chief Francine. Carro- Hopps wasn't too happy about the name sticking either" Delgato smirked.

"OK, so back to the original question at paw, why do you guys think he keeps going after the Chief?" asked Rhinowitz.

"Because he can get away with it" said Wolford.

"No, he might get caught eventually" said Grizzoli.

"Pfft- don't underestimate how devious and clever that little fox is" said Delgato.

"Hey! Don't talk like that!" yelled Francine.

"Relax Francine. It has nothing to do with him being a fox. I like the guy, I think everybody does. I'm just saying as laid back and goofy as he comes off, he's more intelligent than most mammals give him credit for" Delgato defended.

"So, you think he wants to get fired?" Francine asked.

"No, if that were the case he'd leave clues to get caught" said Wolford.

"I think he's lazy" said Higgins.

"Why? He seems to like the job and gets everything done up to standard, if not above it. I mean look at his academy record. He passed right up there with Carrots, I mean Hopps" asked Rhinowitz.

"Chief may not be able to actually catch him, but he knows it's him. He ends up getting parking duty after every prank. Parking duty is the easiest job there is" said Higgins.

"That can't sit well with the bunny, she hates parking duty and gets stuck with it the same as him just because there's no one else that size to partner her with" said Wolford.

"So what's his end game? He never seems to be around to watch the results. I guess he doesn't need to though. The guy is always happy" said Higgins.

"That's not true. He got pretty mad when Grizzoli and Rhinowitz were teasing him about his name" said Delgato.

"Wilde? Why?" asked Francine.

"No not Wilde, his middle name. It's Piberius" said Delgato.

"Weird name" said Grizzoli.

"Yeah he almost came unglued. Blew a gasket at both of us" said Rhinowitz.

"Hu, so why's he keep doing it?" asked Francine again.

"Got me- most of the time he's not even around to see the end results, so I can't imagine what he keeps doing it for" said Delgato.

"HAHAHAHAA- end results! Chief bubbalo butt" laughed Wolford.

"Bubbalo butt? Did I miss something?" asked Francine.

"Holy fangs, you weren't here yesterday" said Fangmeyer.

"It had to be the best one yet- or worst, depending on how you look at it" Wolford said.

"Couldn't have been worse than the paper clip pull… the coffee cup caper… bolt bonker…the buff bulk?" Francine asked.

"Better" Fangmeyer said.

"Seriously?" Francine asked. "You better not let the Chief hear you calling him that-he'll demote you."

"Oh please Francine- that bull knows everything that happens in the precinct, you have a terrible memory for an elephant" Higgins said.

"That is a stereo type and I resent it- and if he knew everything he would catch Wilde" Francine replied.

"Touché" said Higgins.

"I don't see how he didn't get hurt with the paperclips. He could have lost an eye on that one" said Wolford.

"Wolford- are you dense? He put that magnetizing agent in Chiefs soap. Do you wash the fur on your face and muzzle or around your eyes with the shampoo that has scent neutralizer in it? Ever get that stuff in your eyes?" asked Delgato.

"No I don't, yes, I have, but at least I do wash my fur, and how would you know? The only way I thought you took baths was with your tongue" said Wolford as he scowled at the large cat.

"HEY HEY HEY! Guys, off subject. Would you explain the bubbalo butt thing?" said Francine.

"Right" said Wolford.

"How could it be worse than the coffee caper? Chief was in a bad mood for days" Francine asked.

"You wouldn't be in a good mood either if someone had hidden a mechanical device in your desk and glued magnets to every coffee cup in the precinct that made them dance all over your work area. Ever seen Chief try to hold a Styrofoam cup? His hooves slice through them like butter" said Delgato.

"Why didn't he just go buy another cup?" Swinton asked.

"He did. But they were insulated under the plastic with some kind of metal. The magnet just picked those up too. He ended up just going without coffee for a few days" replied Higgins.

"No coffee? Yep, that would put any of us in a bad mood" Wolford replied dryly.

"Why didn't maintenance just come disable the thing?" asked Trunkaby.

"They tried, couldn't get to it without taking the whole desk apart. Scheduled to do it the first time Chief had a day off, but by then whatever was powering it had run out of juice and it quit" said Rhinowitz.

"You think he planned it that way on purpose?" asked Francine.

"Are you kitting? He made sure whatever was in that shampoo didn't soak through the skin and only stuck to fur. Of course he planned it" said Wolford.

"That wasn't as bad as the bolt bonker. Every piece of furniture in his office collapsed as soon as he sat in the chair, even the pictures on the walls fell off because of the vibrations" said Francine.

"No, Wilde actually removed all the nails, had them stuck up with sticky tape. It was like a chain reaction -the chair fell with the Chief in it, then the desk, the filing cabinet, then the pictures. The only thing that didn't fall apart was the chairs he keeps for mammals visiting his office" said Rhinowitz.

"How did he not get hurt?" asked Delgato.

"Wilde put braces under the desk so nothing fell far enough to hurt his legs, don't know about the rest of it" said Rhinowitz.

"I'd love to know how he does all that and seems to think of everything" said Francine.

"I still think the buff bulk was top of the list" said Higgins.

"Hahahhha! Covering your eyes isn't going to get that picture out of your head Francine!" laughed Delgato.

"SHUT. UP." Francine said.

"How'd he do that anyway?" asked Wolford.

"You don't know? Chief has it 'investigated' every time. Wilde tampered with the thermostat in his office. He couldn't get the heat to turn off that day. He couldn't open the window because of repairs on the exterior building. It pretty much turned his office into a hot box. He was sweating like a pig- ugh sorry Swinton" said Delgato.

"Whatever" the pig replied.

"Anyway, he came out to get some air and when he stretched all his clothes fell apart. Turns out all the stitches in his uniform had dissolved because he was sweating so much. I have no idea how Wilde replaced the stitching with that dissolvable thread" Delgato continued.

"I thought we were going to have to call the fire department that day as red as Francine and Hopps turned when they saw him!" Wolford laughed.

"SHUT. UP." Francine said again.

"Whew- Chief was mad that day" said Higgins.

"Yeah, but I think he was more upset because of how it affected the gals than himself. He screamed at Wilde for a good twenty minutes that day" said Delgato.

"Yeah yeah- what happened yesterday!" asked Francine again.

"Alright, hold your trunk and keep your britches on. There was a loud pop. Everybody in the bull pen heard it. Within a few minutes Chief was screaming and we all ran out to see why. He stomped out of his office, with his chair stuck to his butt. As it turns out the padded seat on the thing was replaced with one that looked identical, only when he sat on it, it exploded. Some kind of pink goo was stuck to him and the chair. When they finally managed to pull it off there was a stretch of the crud and it ended up blowing up like a balloon that stuck to his rear end. Hence-bubbalo butt" said Wolford.

"Aww- I missed it!" whined Francine.

"He's getting brazen about it too. The pranks are coming more often and seem to be scaling up each time" said Grizzoli.

"I don't understand why Chief hasn't outright strangled him yet. That makes two uniforms he has destroyed" said Trunkaby.

"Ugh Hello- does no one here pay attention? Chief had a new uniform, tailor made, delivered within an hour after each incident" said Grizzoli.

"You're kitting?!" asked Francine.

"Nope" Grizzoli replied.

"How did Wilde…" asked Francine.

"No one knows" Wolford shrugged.

"So, how long do you think it will be before the next one?" Delgato asked.

"At least a week after yesterday" said Higgins.

"I'll bet you fifty bucks its sooner than that" bet Wolford.

"Wolford, you always lose, why do you even bother?" asked Delgato.

"Scared?" asked Wolford.

"You're on buddy. Fifty bucks says it's at least a week against you thinking sooner" Delgato shook his paw on it.

"If there is another prank I am going to tan his hide" Judy said as she walked into the pen.

"Hopps! Your late today, where have you been?" asked Francine.

"Might as well call me Carrots Francine, everyone else does when they aren't talking directly to me. I don't mind, it's sort of a term of endearment now. I'm late because he's like living with a kit. We finally finished all the wedding planning last night and he was so excited I couldn't get him to go to bed, so I had a hard time getting him up this morning."

"Speak of the devil. There's the lazy cur now" Delgato said.

"Heyyyy- I resemble that remark" smirked the fox as he entered the room.

 **BOOM**

"You owe me fifty bucks pal" said Wolford as he smirked at the tiger.

"I'll send the herd to your place after hours" Delgato stated as he folded his arms at the wolf.

"Jerk" Wolford said.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Nicholas Wilde stuffed his paws in his pockets after he passed through the doors of Precinct one, staving off yet another yawn that tried to escape his muzzle. He watched with lazy interest as his bunny made her way to the bullpen, and kept a sliding stroll several paces behind her until Clawhauser beckoned him to his desk.

"What's up B.J.?" he quipped towards the chubby cheetah.

The rotund feline bore his teeth in an overly aggressive smile as he replied, "Got your coffee!"

This had become a regular routine between the pair every morning. The friendly cat would bring in a hot black coffee for Nick with two sugars and a carlotte for Judy in exchange for them bringing back a large bear claw on their morning break and check in. It had worked out well for both parties as it saved Judy from having to stop and get something she felt was cutting time away from their duties, and Clawhauser ended up getting a bear claw nearly as large as his face around nine am, which was quickly snatched from the bakery across the street, and brushed off the cats hunger until lunch.

"We'll grab it on the way back through, gotta catch Carrots in the bull pen" he said as he gave a half hearted salute and stuffed his paw back into his pocket. He drug his feet towards the waiting open door and heard Judy talking to Francine just as he leaned against the frame.

"Speak of the devil, there's the lazy cur now" Delgato teased.

"Heyyyy- I resemble that remark" he cooed in response.

 **BOOM**

"You owe me fifty bucks pal" said Wolford as he smirked at the tiger.

"I'll send the herd to your place after hours" Delgato stated as he folded his arms at the wolf.

"Jerk" Wolford said.

A loud explosion sent a shock wave through the building. The doors jolted and desks in the bullpen jerked slightly as the glass in the windows rattled before all went silent again. The fox turned quickly as his paws flew from his pockets and suspended mid air. Looking back towards Bogo's office he saw a rush of yellow smoke, permeated by thicker more dense strands of bright pink.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no…." the fox muttered as he began to run through the open hall towards the stairs.

"Nick! What did you do?!" Judy screamed as she bolted from the bull pen after him. All the officers stood from their chairs and exited the room watching as he began to run.

The tod rushed up the stairs huffing, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that weasel! Too much combustion in the chamber. Please don't be hurt, please don't be hurt, please don't be hurt…."

Judy watched in horror as Nick ranted up the stairs and down the hallway towards Bogo's office. Upon reaching his door the fox stopped and threw it open. A thick plume of smoke rushed from the open room and Nick stuck his head in muttering again "Please don't be hurt." After taking a deep breath he raised the volume of his voice "Chief? Chief?" He looked around frantically through the haze and saw no movement. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- it was an accid-"

Nick took several tentative steps back as a massive shadow lumbered through the cloud. Bogo stood in the open door frame, a thick mist surrounding his body as he placed both paws on his eyes and ran his hooves over his eyelids, removing a thick pink and yellow splotched unknown substance away from his eyes. Nick looked up and seemed to be assessing the condition of the bull as his dark eyes opened and landed firmly on the fox in front of him. A quick cough from the bovine spilled a small cloud of purple dust from his mouth, followed by a snort that resulted in two vents of the same colored puffs of smoke from each of his nostrils.

Judy's mouth fell open when she heard the fox snort, trying to suffocate a laugh that was ultimately caught in his throat as he clamped both paws over his muzzle. The massive bull took a few more steps forward and seemed to shake himself more in the manner of a wet canine than any buffalo she had ever seen, before he dropped to all fours in front of the staggering Reynard. The bulls head shook several times and his hoof dug deep enough into the tiles that they were being rutted by the sheer force before he bellowed out a noise she could only imagine would have come from one of his ancestors who had been teased and taunted with a red swaying cape in front of them. The color of the fur that was currently bristling on the wide eyed tod in front of him.

Judy jumped as a red blur rushed past her; the only audible noises she caught were the mumblings of "Oh crap, Oh crap, Oh crap" trailing behind the fox just as the bull charged at full speed. Massive hoof falls left her bouncing in place each time Bogo slammed against the ground. She watched frozen as the tod slid, overcompensating a corner to turn, with the bull gaining ground with each furious stomp closer. The fox slammed into a wall and threw himself off in the opposite direction just before the bull slammed into it, crushing the drywall under his weight before his hooves caught the floor again and pulled him forward with enough force that he nearly slid on the polished tile towards the fox again.

"Chief! Please don't kill him!"Judy screamed as she rushed towards the direction they had fled. The fox ran down the stairs so fast he nearly fell several times before looking back to see the bull only a few paces behind. "I'm sorry! It was an accident! DAAAAAHH!" he screamed as he slammed through the precinct doors and rushed down the stairs outside. The bull seemed to have gained some semblance once he reached the doors, where he stood back up on his hind paws, shook himself again and seemed to fight against a foreign facial expression as his eyes squinted towards the direction the fox had fled in.

Clawhauser sat dumbfounded as the other officers stared in disbelief. Judy rushed down the stairs looking for Nick, only to be met with the cold glare of chestnut eyes that left her slinking back towards the other officers without saying a word as the phone on Clawhauser's desk began to ring. The large cat picked it up slowly and eeked out a 'hello' before his ears fell back and he handed the phone to Bogo with shaking paws. The bulls twitching lip stilled as he answered whoever was calling with a few curt yes' before he hung up and turned to Clawhauser. "I'm going home- get Sgt. Caine in here for the day Clawhauser, and you can hand out assignments." When the large cat gave him a questioning glance the bull simply lowered his head and grunted "Not today" he said. The cheetah nodded and gave a quick "yes sir" before he started dialing numbers and making calls as Bogo walked through the front doors and exited the precinct.

"Did you see that?" asked Francine to no one in particular.

"We all saw that Francine" replied Higgins.

"No, Chief was smiling when he was chasing Wilde, it was scary. I don't think I've ever seen him smiling before."

"Pennington, he was not smiling, if anything he was scowling" remarked Delgato.

"I don't know guys" said Wolford. "He may have been smiling. Wilde pretty much just admitted he did it, so Chief might be happy because he's pretty much caught now."

"I think the Chief was too mad to be thinking about consequences, if he was smiling, which I doubt, he was probably just happy he was going to kill that fox" said Delgato.

Clawhauser made his way to the bullpen with folders in paw. As he stood at the podium the familiar russet colored fur poked back through the door a few moments after they had all taken their seats again. The fox was met by some more than angry scowls and given the cold shoulder by nearly every mammal in the room as he made his way back to the chair he and Judy shared. He sat seemingly unfazed by the interaction, only side glancing at Judy a few times, who had given him the dead eye until Clawhauser handed out a specific assignment to Trunkaby and Higgins. The fox jumped forward snatching the envelope from Higgins who took up a defensive stance alongside his partner Trunkaby. "Wilde! Don't you think you have caused enough trouble today?" asked the hippo as he creased his brows.

The tod ignored the question as he flipped through the report searching and muttering to himself as Trunkaby reached to take it back. Both Hippo and elephant jolted when the fox snarled at them. "I'm sorry! I swear I'll give it back and fess up to everything, just give me a second!" the fox nearly shouted as he began searching the pages again. Judy stood beside the two officers with her paws on her hips. "Nick! What is wrong with you?" she asked as she gave a questioning glance to the other two officers. "Don't look at me- I have no idea. It's just a robbery at the Emerald Empire Jewelry store. Not enough stolen for it to be a federal case" replied Trunkaby.

All three mammals jumped when the fox slammed his fists into the desktop he was looking the file over on. "NO!" Nick screamed. He jumped up and grabbed Judy's paw "We got parking duty Carrots, gotta go now!" Nick said as he drug a squeaking Judy out of the precinct doors. The remaining officers stared in gawked as the fox pulled the bunny out of the room.

Judy had grown increasingly more concerned over the last hour. Nick had stayed away from her making feverish and secretive phone calls to only the great lion knows who. He had left the precinct without their coffee. Had neglected to write any tickets, wasn't paying attention and seemed to be trying to avoid her. After another half hour he came rushing to her with a pleading in his eyes that she rarely saw, but easily recognized. As he placed his paws on her shoulders she looked up at him shaking her head, "Go Nick, I don't know what this is about and you can explain it later. One of us has to stay on duty. But if it's that important just go take care of it."

The relief that washed over his face was almost immeasurable "You know you're a peach."

"No Nick, I am a Carrot. I think you have more than proven that point to everyone at the station by now."

The fox chuckled as he pulled her into one of the tightest embraces she could remember.

"Thank you Judy."

 _Judy- he called me Judy._ Alarm bells started sounding in the bunnies mind as it echoed through her ears.

"Don't you do anything stupid you dumb fox, you already have a big enough mess to clean up as it is."

He leaned away from her and smiled nodding his head in confirmation just before he kissed her on the nose and took off down the road like a shot. Judy was caught up in the way he was moving, almost like he was flying. Not that it was comparable, just that the mood he was in seemed to be moving his feet higher and faster than she could recall him ever lifting them before. A screeching sound broke her reverie, where the tod jumped through the open window of a familiar brown van at the end of the street. Judy watched as he pulled off his shirt and tie, waving back at her in one of the biggest smiles she thought she had ever seen. It made her chest feel lighter for a moment, until she realized that she actually felt heavier, a weight pulling her down on one side. Reaching down into her vest pocket she pulled out the cell phone that he always carried, along with the badge he was so proud of wearing. Every floating emotion in the previous moment fell into darkness as she looked back to see the van had disappeared. "No" was all she could utter.

It wasn't even nine A.M. when he left. Their whole routine for the day had gone wrong from the beginning. Judy was alright with not having the coffee. Clawhauser was understanding about the bear claw, but by lunch time the worrying that had set in had taken over any ability to eat. She sat quietly and watched the mammals going about their day as she drank some cold water. The rest of day crawled by, and by the time it was over, all she wanted to do was go home and she avoided talking to anyone at the precinct when she left. It wasn't like she could really answer any questions. She had more of her own than anyone could have asked her for about her fox.

As the day slipped away Judy found herself pacing, wondering where he was and if he was safe. Wondering if he had left this life and returned to one she really didn't have any information on. She rolled it over in her mind repeatedly, but there was nowhere she could think of to look for him. Aside from Finnick she didn't know anyone else he had been friends with before they met, and he never talked about family. All she knew for sure was that his parents had passed away in a car accident just before he turned ten, and because of how long he had been hustling, she assumed he had no other family. As the night ticked by slower than any clock could count down seconds, Judy fell into a darkness that left her feeling and longing for more than she had ever felt she'd lost before. She eventually succumbed to the pangs of sleep, fearing there was no end to it in sight.

The most annoying sound on the planet pulled Judy from the restless slumber she had fallen into. A furry gray paw slammed the device as she groaned and slid out of the bed she had fallen asleep on top of. She wandered out to the living room and looked around. Sighing heavily when she saw there was no one there and she was still alone. The doe made her way to the refrigerator and opened the door to get a bottle of water when she heard a grumble that caused her to drop it to the floor. _Nick._

She rushed into the living room and saw that the couch was still empty and nearly tripped over a large furry paw at the end of the sofa. "Why are you on the floor?! Where have you been you dumb fox!" She stumbled down to him struggling with shoving the coffee table out of the way as she leaned towards him and suddenly pulled away at the sight. "You're filthy! What happened to your fur, and your cla- Oh holy Carrots you stink! Nicholas Wilde- GET UP!"

The fox grumbled and moaned as she pulled and tugged on his clothing, barely able to move him due to the size difference "Caaarrrots just let me sleeeeep…."

"No, GET UP! You are taking a shower and going to work. There is no way you aren't showing up today after what happened yesterday. Get up you dumb fox!"

Judy Hopps was struggling through the doors of the ZPD, dragging a half conscious fox behind her by the tie. As she made her way into the bull pen she shoved him towards their usual chair. The fox leaned over it and was immoveable by the bunny as he slipped between realms again. "Fangmeyer, please get him in the chair for me?" she asked. The tiger shook his head and grabbed the fox by the shirt, lifting him into the seat as his head slipped onto the desktop. "Why'd you bring him in like that Hopps? How'd he get like…." the tiger gestured with waving paws towards the fox, "this?"

Francine walked over to the small group that had formed around their usual seat. "Hopps, what happened to you two, you look like something the cat dragged in." Several felines in the room let out a low growl before the pachyderm shrugged an apology "Sorry guys, slip of the tongue."

Judy was speculative about exactly how much she should reveal, but couldn't outright lie about it knowing her co workers and friends were already aware of the fact that Nick had taken a 'leave of absence' yesterday. "I didn't sleep much last night, and he slept even less, he's pretty much a living version of the walking dead right now." Judy pulled out her favorite carrot pen and a bottle of super glue. Her favorite pen had to be taken apart because evidence needed the recording element for Bellwethers trial, but it had become a sentimental item, and she often had to glue it back together every few weeks to keep it intact. Nick mumbled something and half leaned up, wrapping his arms around Judy.

The doe froze as he started nibbling on one of her ears and whispering sweet nothings to her, completely unaware that he was in a room filled with snickering coworkers as she blushed furiously. "Pawsy and chatty when he's sleeping isn't he?" asked Francine.

"Nick! Stop that- wake up" Judy let out a defeated sigh and groaned as the fox petted her ears.

"You have no idea Francine, and he talks in his sleep. He's like an open book. You could ask him about his sexual prowess right now and he'd tell you the truth. WOLFORD! NO! Stop looking at us like that. I was not giving you permission or consent to ask for permission. I'm just making a point."

The large timber wolf took a step away and placed his paws up in surrender, but Judy scowled at the little smirk he was trying to hide.

"So why did you bring him in like that?" asked Fangmeyer.

Judy sighed again and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "I didn't think it was a good idea for him not to show up to work today after what he did yesterday. I figured if he is going to get in trouble, suspended or fired he should be here to face it himself."

"Well, at least now we know why he's never around when one of his pranks goes off. The guy can't keep a straight face, no matter how bad the situation is" grumbled Delgato.

"Talk about dropping a dime" said Trunkaby.

"Yeah, you ever heard about someone dropping it on themself… themselves? How do you even say that?" remarked Higgins.

"Nope, this is a first" said Grizzoli.

"Come on guys you aren't helping here, she's already worried" said Francine.

A soft padding entered the room and all the officers turned to see Clawhauser ready to relay a message.

"Chief says the briefing this morning is going to run late because he's running behind. The night shift is staying an extra hour and he wants you guys to stay here until he comes in" he chirped.

"Really? Chief is never late. Why isn't he having you do the assignment Benji?" asked Delgato.

"Beats me, I'm just the messenger, though it's kinda weird he asked me to stay in the pen today too" answered Clawhauser.

"OK. Something's wrong... He's never late" said Fangmeyer.

"Yeah, well when's the last time you saw him leave during the day?" asked Wolford.

"Never. You're right something's wrong" said Delgato.

"Yeah, he's gonna fire Wilde in front of everyone and make an example out of him" said Higgins.

"HIGGINS! Look - you're making Judy cry- just stop talking!" shushed Francine.

"Sorry" whispered Higgins.

Every officer present made a mad scramble back to their desk as McHorn entered the room and took his usual post beside the podium. The usual ruckus ensued upon the Chief entering the room. Business went as usual with the exception of everyone being openly curious as to why the Buffalo hadn't yet addressed the half slumbering fox draped over a bunny, said bunny trying to maintain a professional decorum through sniffles. Chief Bogo stood a little taller as he addressed his troops after the usual garb and handing out assignments.

"Now, as to the reason we are running behind today. There was a robbery at the Emerald Empire Jewelry store the night before last." The buffalo sighed as several officers looked to Trunkaby and Higgins, who both turned their attention to Hopps and Wilde, more specifically, Wilde. All eyes turned back to their commanding officer as he cleared his throat to garner their full attention again. "A courier arrived this morning with an unmarked box. Inside the box was a simple typed piece of paper that read the name of that store. Every piece of jewelry that had been stolen was in that box. It contained more than 12,000.00 worth of merchandise. Every piece was accounted for… all but one" Bogo stated.

No officer present dared make a sound as the chief surveyed the room and took another deep breath. He kept his eyes unfocused on any specific individual, instead choosing to seem as if he were studying each individual separately. When he continued there was nearly a whispered crack in his voice that resonated through the room and every officer present. "I do not condone vigilantism. However, that one piece of missing jewelry was found early this morning before that courier box ever arrived. Yesterday morning my wife called me after the store had alerted her to the theft of a ring that has been handed down in my family for more than 13 generations. It was in the store for a repair to one of the prongs that held the stone in place. My dear wife cried all day yesterday in mourning for the ring that my grandmother gave me to ask her for her hand in marriage. This morning she cried again, the happiest tears I have seen from her in many years, when she opened a package that had been laid in our mail box and found her ring inside it." The old bull's eyes softened as he looked over the room, all eyes switching between him and the two smallest officers in Precinct One as he finished his speech and looked at the fox seated in front of him, now cradled by a sobbing bunny. "To whoever may have returned that piece of joy to my wife and family, thank you, and though I do not believe personal sentiment is appropriate in the workplace, in this instance, I must say that _I am_ very _proud of_ the fact that I can call _you_ one of my own."

"How did he know?" whispered Wolford. "How the heck am I supposed to know you mangy cur, how did he find out about your bird?" Delgato spat back at him.

The room fell instantly silent as a sleepy voice pierced through the haze.

There is a place between the waking world, between where dreams begin, and between being fully asleep and having an addle mind, that is separate from the state where you fall into sleep. In the state where you fall into sleep one can sometimes lose track of their senses, or become confused upon trying to fall asleep or wake, and slip back into either place. The space between is often neglected to be mentioned, but the mind is completely open, one in this state often feels as if they are floating between nothing. That open mind can either be connected to all those places and become an open book, or shut down, depending on the individual in question. In this case, that individual is Nicholas Wilde. He does not know he is awake or asleep, for he is neither. He is essentially, as Judy put it, an open book connected to all the worlds of consciousness and those between in his own mind. One who also has a connection to a working mouth. And the two words he just spoke in absence of all logical thought were a simple and honest response to a statement, that are about to forever alter the course of his life. Two simple little words.

A collective gasp was heard through the room. Judy jerked away from her fox and stared at him in a state of utter shock, mouth barely split open as she tried to inhale more air than the jarring of those words in her ears would allow into her lings. All eyes present now trained on the canidae, waiting for a response from an individual who was nowhere near aware of the fact he had made _one_ to begin with. A loud bang tore through his peaceful darkness, accompanied by the booming voice everyone in precinct one openly cowered from while in the owner's presence. "WILDE!"

The fox was jolted from his oasis in a sudden slam to the senses. As he shot up in the seat, he blinked several times and saw a large book that had been dropped to the floor. _Why is that there?_ He thought.

Not an uncommon sight to anyone familiar with the bullpen, on the floor not far from the seat he and Judy sat in lye the textual manual for procedures Chief Bogo kept tucked under his podium. The book was massive, large enough for the bull to easily handle and read, but would have been a stretch even for one of the larger lions or tigers to pick up and handle. Blinking again his first thought went to Judy, who he turned to without thought. There she sat, scooted away from him with one leg hanging off the chair, clutching the top of the desk with a look of awe written all over her face, completely stunned and unmoving as violet eyes locked onto his.

"What? What'd I miss fluff?" the fox asked. She sat silently frozen as her mouth tried to work a few times only for her jaw to snap shut as her eyes bulged a little and he heard her gulp. The fox then donned a heavily confused brow and he looked out over the rest of the room to see his fellow officers gaping and gawking at him as if he were proof alien life actually existed. All he could do was shake his head in confusion and ask again "What?"

An almost feminine raspy laugh echoed through the room and all eyes turned to McHorn, whose chest was bouncing lightly and lips had curled up heavily. A sight and sound that was nearly as much a shock as the words that had left the fox's lips, as the massive Rhino had never been heard to utter more than a simple yes or no answer, and no one had ever seen the beast smile, let alone laugh. Just as imposing and intimidating as Bogo himself at times, the whole thing left shivers going down several officers' spines as the laugh grew louder and he trained his eyes on the fox in front of Bogo.

Nick turned and grabbed Judy by the shoulders, shaking her lightly, trying to wake her from her stumped state "Carrots! What did I do?!" Judy shivered for a second before regaining her thought process and leaned into his ear whispering. The fox's eyes grew wider with every passing second, his brows reaching a crest most wouldn't believe was possible before he let his grip on the bunny lighten, the two slowly separating from each other and sliding away from the embrace they had just been locked in by proxy as the fox's mouth fell open. The fox's eyes stared into hers for a moment in what could only be described as abject horror before they shifted to see McHorn chuckling again, before he slid them over to see one very large bull leaning against the podium looking directly at him.

The fox swallowed hard as he fought to pull back memories from some sort of realm between realities. Ring… stolen… cried…. Box _….. Proud… of… you._

The massive bull leaned forward, his weight causing the wood of his podium to groan slightly, his glasses slid down his nose as he eyed the fox, a thin smile splayed on his lips that turned up into an overly energetic smirk.

 _I didn't say that! I can't have said that! Think you dumb fox!...…I said,…I… Oh shit -_ _ **I said it!**_

Nick released his grip on Judy completely and ran both paws over his eyes groaning, leaning into himself before he muttered "Oh Crap."

"NICHOLAS PIBERIUS WILD!" the buffalo bellowed in all the authoritative voice anyone present thought he could muster.

"Yes Sir!"

The officers of Precinct One sat stunned with their maws hanging open, eyes ticking between the bull and fox. At the mention of his full name the fox had sat up at attention and faced the massive bovine in a manner of respect none had ever seen him display, nor believed him capable of having. Judy sat lightly swaying her head back and forth in disbelief at the events unfolding before her and the world she knew was wiped away as the bull spoke again.

"Language."

The fox sat in front of the bull, the bunny at his side. He had folded his paws in front of him and braced his back as straight as he could, looked directly into the bull's eyes when he responded the first time, but this time, the fox shifted his gaze to the floor, a clear show of shame on his face before he spoke again "Sorry Dad. Oh Gaaaaw!" the fox belted as he tucked his knees in close to his body, wrapped his tail around his legs and cupped his face in his paws with his jaw resting on his folded knees. "Me and my big…"

"Mouth" Bogo continued for him.

Chief Bogo made his way to the side of the podium he usually worked behind and leaned one arm into it heavily, causing the wood to creak again while he watched the fox in front of him with a growing sense of satisfaction and humor. "Nick" the bull said as he watched his ears perk towards him. "I don't think I've seen you this embarrassed since mom found those kitten magazines under your bed" he chuckled. "Then again, it might be as bad as when you got caught under the bleachers with Stacy and Hea-"

"DAD!" Nick screamed and then slapped his paws to his forehead after realizing he had sounded like a teen aged girl whose mother had spilled a secret to an unknown crush "I'm ruined" Nick whispered.

"Aye, that ye are laddie" piped in Mchorn.

All snickers and chuckles died at the sound of his voice, though Judy couldn't rip her eyes away from Nick because he was currently curled up in a ball next to her in the chair like a kit hiding under covers from imaginary monsters as he peeked through his fingers at a chuckling Bogo. She still couldn't help but wonder how such a massive and empowered mammal like McHorn could have a voice as sweet as butterflies with enough hiss behind it to also conjure the image of stinging bees. Maybe because of the gap between his teeth?

"Ye outed yurself pup, an ye owe me a bottle of scotch to boot." McHorn slapped Bogo on the back as he continued, both large mammals chuckling at the state of the fox in front of them. "I told ye he wouldn't make twelve months here with that secret!"

"Thanks Uncle Horny" Nick groaned with a slight smirk.

McHorn eyed the room full of gaping mouths and large eyes surveying him before he responded "Aye, that's what he's called me since they brought im home. Lad had a speech impediment an couldn't say me name right. An I don care if ye all know it. I can still put ye through a wall, an I'm takin early retirement next year so I can live with it. Yu pup, on the other paw, have the next 40 years here and I only wish I could be round to see the hell yur gonna catch fur this." The rhino openly laughed, causing everyone else to join the fray.

"Oopsie- you said it" said Bogo. "Oopsie number two, you said it twice, and Oopsie number threesie, you said it in front of every mammal here. That breaks our little bet, you know what happens now." Nick sighed as he braced himself for the oncoming storm and Judy stared at him wonder eyed.

"Alright mammals," Bogo said as he straightened himself. "Since the cats out of the bag, so to speak, and I am not apologizing for that because you all know what I mean. I'm going to give you a history lesson." With that statement all snickers, chuckles and whispering died and all eyes and ears were completely focused on the bull at the front of the room. Nick straightened himself in the chair. He sat tall with his tail swishing behind him, ears perked as Bogo began to speak.

"Twenty three years ago I was promoted to captain. Twenty two years ago my wife and I decided we wanted to have a child. To our heartbreak we discovered that would never happen. So we entered a program to help young mammals who didn't have homes of their own. But we had a few conditions. We understood that we wanted and needed a child to love, but we wanted a child who wanted and needed us just as much. When we went to a local orphanage there were many children, but my wife spotted one who didn't seem to fit. He hid from everyone, didn't play with the others, wouldn't speak and kept himself withdrawn from the group or anyone visiting. It took my wife several months to convince the place that he was the one we wanted to take home with us, because, as you can see- _he_ is a fox. It took that little kit a while to accept that we really wanted him. He was 10 years old when we brought him home."

"My wife tried everything to draw him out of his shell. Eventually she found that he liked humor, and was very funny when he chose to be, but he had a hard time showing genuine emotions. So my wife taught him everything she knew about how to pull a prank on other mammals without hurting anyone, while also making sure the joke conveyed some form of caring in it so there wouldn't be any hard feelings while allowing him to express his own form of affection. If he pranks you, he likes you, the bigger the prank, the more he cares. You can thank my wife for that."

"I learned from the best" Nick touted.

"Yes you did, and she's expecting you for dinner tonight, wants to thank you personally, bring your Bunny, it's about time she met the family" Bogo smiled. "Now back to the story, two years after we all found each other, Nick decided he wanted to be part of our family. My wife and I never wanted to make him feel like we wanted to replace or make him forget his parents. They were good mammals, so we chose not to change his name, but, he wanted my name, so we made a compromise. My ancient family migrated from the distant land that was crossed through by the Tiber River. Long story short- Tiber became Tiberius, Tiberius became Piberius. My name is Augustus Piberius Bogo. The tod in front of you is Nicholas Piberius Wilde, my son. Also the bane of my existence for the last 22 years" he shot at Nick as he crossed his arms and smirked at the fox.

Judy watched as Nick's Chest puffed out and swelled with pride, Bogo returned the gesture and smiled in a way no one had ever seen, and both males had an unfamiliar twinkle in their eyes. There was obviously some form of communication between them that she might never understand. But there was one thing she couldn't understand, and it raced through her mind, clashing with all she had heard, and all she was currently seeing as her face scrunched in confusion while the other officers began to laugh at Bogo's comment. A soft paw came to rest on her shoulder and when she looked up Nick was staring back at her curiously.

Judy looked up to Bogo and he was grinning back, nodding his head in understanding. "Nicholas, explain to your mate and the other officers why I treated you the way I did when we met in the Rain Forrest District, _short version_." Nick rolled his eyes and let out a lamented groan before he looked back up and saw an eyebrow quirk in impatience towards him.

"Yes Sir" he replied, took a breath and blew it out, before he seemed to recite something a child had learned in school of a subject they particularly hated having to memorize to read in front of the entire class. "If you're going to act like the worst stereo type given to your species by the rest of the world… there is no reason to call or treat you by any other name."

Nick stuck his elbow up on the desk, and rested his chin in his paw with a huff in a mock pout before he turned his eyes to Judy and smirked. Bogo chuckled at the display as he leaned towards the gray doe. "Thank you for being the last light house beacon that brought him out of the darkness Hopps" the bull said as Judy fought the tears in her eyes.

Bogo turned back to Nick and stood in front of the fox. "One more thing, you made a mistake this time Nicholas" the bull chirped. The fox's eyes went wide again as Bogo pulled a small bag from his pocket. "In your hast to set everything right, your mother found something that could prove you were the one who took this into your own paws. So, for all officers in the room, this information was never known." Bogo pulled a small wooden looking object out of the bag. Judy thought it was almost funny how difficult it looked for the massive bull to hold the tiny object. But after placing it between his hooves he held it out in front of the fox. Nick clenched his fists together nervously as he pulled away, a guilty grimace on his face as he looked up at the bull. "Your mother cleaned up enough of these when you were younger to know exactly what it was, and who it belonged to, and figured she knew how it got in the box, so I have a few questions for you." In his large hoofed paws, Bogo held out the tiny fragment towards the fox. And Nick took a nervous glance at his paws.

A look of fear fell on him as he looked back to the massive bull again, and the bull bent his knees to be more level with the fox, holding out a single broken claw.

"I'm not going to ask what is obvious. So, I'll ask this… Property damage?"

"No sir."

"Injuries to any mammals?"

"No sir."

"Possibility of repercussions, recognition, or retaliation?"

"No sir."

"Good" The bull nodded his head.

" **DON'T DO IT AGAIN!"**

"Yes Sir!" the fox replied.

With that the bull stood again and Judy along with the other officers witnessed another event that would be forever locked into their minds. Massive hooves landed on the tods head where they gave several affectionate scratches. To the shock of everyone in the room, the Reynard momentarily closed his eyes and leaned into the motion, then let out a low purr. The fox's eyes shot open in realization before he swatted at the large paws and let out a whining "Dad!"

The bull chuckled as he crossed his arms, while Nick tried to regain a sense of dignified composure running his paws over the top of his head and straightening his shirt.

"What is it that you and your mother always say to each other when a joke gets the better of you?" The bull stood and tapped his chin as he looked back at the fox. "You know you love me, and now so does everybody else" he said as he looked around the room smiling.

Bogo and McHorn made their way to the exit door and Bogo turned back to look at the bunny.

"Hopps" Bogo said.

Nick realized where the bulls gaze had landed and frantically waved his paws.

"Please don't…" said Nick.

"Never" said the bull.

"Please don't…"

"Never…"

"Please don't!"

"Ever."

Nick flopped onto the desk with his paws in his lap, waiting for the inevitable.

"Leave superglue around that tod. Got his paws stuck to his fur when he was a kit, had to shave it off but couldn't get all the fur off his pads. They called him Flurry all through high school." The bull smiled large enough to show almost all his teeth as he opened the door. "I owed you that for yesterday son."

"Kill me. Just kill me now" the fox whined again.

" **DISMISSED**!" the bull screamed at the room, then stopped and held up a paw with one finger extended. " **IN TWO MINUTES**!"

Judy watched as Bogo and McHorn made their way out of the room, standing behind the glass of the closed door to the bullpen as she looked at the glue in her hand trying to figure out what that really meant and how someone could glue their paws to their own fur. Realization finally dawned on the bunny and her eyes grew wide as she tossed the tube to the floor, looking at her fox in shock, a deep blush coating every part of her ears before she fell out of the chair in a hysterical giggling fit that sent the entire room into an almost riot like frenzy of laughter. Hooves and paws slammed into the floor and desks rattling and vibrating everything in the room as the fox sat up to look down at his bunny.

"Laugh it up Fluff" he said as he looked down at her and cocked his head from the chair above. "He's going to be your father in law."

Judy froze, she looked at the door where the two massive senior officers were openly laughing outside the glass. Bogo lowered himself slightly and looked at the fox again. Judy lost any fear of future possible problems when she saw the bull stick his tongue out, cross his eyes and move his head in a manner that caused his ears to flop around towards the fox. The fox crossed his arms and returned the facial gesture as the barrage began.

"Uncle Horny!" Wolford Chirped

"Awww! The fox loves us!" said Clawhauser.

"Eh, how dare you" said Nick.

"I don't get it… what was he doing with the glue?"asked Francine.

"Come on Francine, the bunny got it before you did!" shouted Delgato.

"What?!"Francine asked.

"He mistook it for something _else_ Pennington…" said Swinton.

"I'm marrying the Chiefs son!" chimed Judy.

"Call the fire department, I think she figured it out!" Wolford cried.

"Ewwww!" yelled Francine.

"McHorn is Irish! They are best friends!" exclaimed Trunkaby.

"We are never keeping glue at our house, or anything else for that matter!"said Judy.

"Now what would I need glue for Carrots? And I won't need anything else, not when I can just stick to you" Nick said as he smirked at her.

"Nick! You did not just say that!" Judy whisper yelled at Nick.

"Oh quit acting like you don't like it Hopps, we all know you want a Flurry fix" laughed Higgins.

"New Nick name alert- pun intended" shouted Wolford.

"Ha Ha- Flurry fix!" laughed Delgato.

"Seriously, someone call the fire department, two burning flames in here!" said Higgins.

"Think you miscounted buddy, definitely three, you just can't see it because of Wilde's fur color" Chirped Wolford.

"Ewwww!" Francine said again.

"That's not what I meant Francine" said Higgins.

"Carrots, just kill me, kill me now and put me out of my misery before my fur spontaneously combusts" Nick complained.

"Four, Clawhauser is changing colors too" Delgato pointed out.

"Geez is everyone here a pervert?" asked Swinton.

"Careful guys, some of this could be considered harassment" said Higgins.

"Pfft, not while the Chief is laughing like _that_ it's not. He gave us two minutes" replied Trunkaby.

"What an old softie" said Clawhauser.

'"So that's why you went so nuts over the name!" said Rhinowitz.

"O. M. Goodness! Did any mammal here know foxes could purr?!" asked Clawhauser.

"CLAWHAUSER!" cried Nick

"Oh Nick! Why don't you want mammals to know you can purr? You purr for me all the time" said Judy.

"JUDY!" Nick Whined again.

"I'll bet he does" Snarlov smirked.

"Dang, I didn't think you could turn that red Wilde" Said Rhinowitz.

"Ha ha, check out the others" Wolford said.

"Think we got a back draft going now guys. All four of them are glowing" Delgato pointed at the blushing mammals.

"Not as bright as the Chiefs boy" Said Trunkaby.

"Awww- he's a Daddy's boy!" shouted Delgato in a cutesy voice.

"Alright, I know where this is going-and no mammal here better say it" Nick deadpanned them all.

"Hey Wilde!" Fangmeyer asked.

"DON'T. SAY. IT." Nick hollered at them as all his fellow officers looked at each other before returning their attention back to the tod as they all shouted;

"Who's your Daddy?!"

"AWWWW NO! You had to say that didn't you?! That's sooo wrong-"

Nick ran his paws over his head as his friends and fellow officers laughed at him.

"Hey Chief, what time is it? DAD! I know I've been in here longer than two minutes…." Nick muttered.

The fox sat taking it all in stride and smiling with every comment, embarrassment present but the pride of the truth made every jab worth the torture. He knew there would likely never be an end to it, and was ultimately happy with the fact that his family had just continued to grow, gaining him brothers and sisters within the ranks of Precinct One, and there would probably be no end to that fact either. But contrary to what most mammals believe. Two minutes can last a very long time. So the fox rolled his eyes and repeated the words he had so carelessly muttered in his sleepy stupor "Thanks Dad."

9/18/2017


	2. Chapter 2

This is what happens when I get frustrated with something I am working on and need a break from another story. Two minutes was just a one shot and I hadn't given it another thought until a few people asked about it. Can't guarantee this will continue because this idea popped into my head last night while I was toiling on something else. When it made me laugh I decided I needed to write it. Go figure! Hopefully you will find it amusing too….

* * *

 **Rabbit Gravy**

Nick shook his head as he stood in the doorway watching Judy fussing over her clothes again. "Carrots, its just dinner."

The doe turned back looking at him as if he had lost every rational part of his mind shaking her head. "Its- Its your…Chief Bogo- Your Da…" _Nope_ \- there was no way she was ever going to get used to that idea.

Nick laughed as he came into the room wrapping his arms around her lightly. "Relax Sweetheart. I think you are more nervous than I was when I met your parents." Judy rolled her eyes as she puffed her cheeks in a breath. "Are you sure that's what you want to wear?" he asked and she frowned. He knew it was the wrong question as she jerked back in front of the mirror.

"I knew it! I need to change again. This isn't good enough and I should probably wear..."

"Judy," he chuckled as he grabbed her arm. "We aren't going to a fancy restaurant. You don't need to wear that dress or try to impress my parents. They already love you."

She deflated as she looked him over. True to his everpresent fashion- or lack thereof he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and pair of dark blue kakis with nothing but a smirk decorating his style. She looked back in the mirror seeing the formal dress she was wearing and sighed as he brushed one of her ears from her shoulder. "Jeans and a shirt?"

"Yup," he replied popping the last letter. After Judy had changed her clothes and Nick had driven to the other side of town she was sitting in the seat twiddling her fingers as she looked at the quaint little home they had stopped in front of. She actually curled her brow and tilted her head looking at the place. It was _pink._ Not that godly pale pink or a sickly sweet girly pink- but a disturbing rendition of neon pink that held bright yellow shutters around the windows. She hadn't even noticed Nick had already left the car until he opened the door for her, but she still couldn't pull her eyes off the ghastly sight in front of her. Nick laughed and pulled her out of the car shaking his head.

He at least had the decency to knock on her behalf. Of course after seeing her frazzled state of nerves he wasn't going to just walk in as he normally would. Especially considering the fact that she seemed to be in some kind of shock as she looked up at the massive door covered in a montage of odd-art? She almost jumped when he nudged her and smirked as she looked back at him blinking. "Mom is a little old fashioned and loves decoupage; she has a tendency to get carried away with it." Judy chuckled nervously and nearly jumped out of her fur when the door suddenly swung open.

The bull standing in front of her quirking a brow seeing her standing at attention as Nick snickered. He lowered down as close to her as he could before he narrowed his eyes "Hopps." Judy gulped and nodded. "What happens in this house, stays in this house."

"Y-yes sir." She replied and Nick grabbed her arm as she attempted to salute. He looked back at Bogo trying not to laugh all his fur off as he shoved her through the door. The old bull was trying to hold in his own snickers as he closed the door.

"BUGGA BOO!"

Out of all the things Judy had seen in her life- this one was probably the one- the one that she might have to wire her jaw closed for because she could not for the life of her pick it up off the floor. As soon as the female water buffalo had come into the room from an ajoining entryway and said those words Nick had puffed out like a cat and jumped at her. Judy's eyes were as wide as saucers as she watched Nick curl into the crook of her arm before she was nipping at his neck and ears like a playful canine. When she pulled away she was giggling when he tipped his head back over her elbow as she scratched his neck. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth and tail swaying against the hoof she was holding under his rear as he _purred._ Sitting him back on the floor the two exchanged another one of those silent communications Judy had seen him exchange with Bogo in the bull pen.

Judy couldn't help but smile as his mother raked her hooves down the side of Nicks face showing off the ring he had brought back to her just before she was shocked again. The female water buffalo leaned down and made every motion that would be indicative of a predator marking their child as she ran her muzzle against his face and Nick leaned into it as he closed his eyes returning the same motion. When she heard Bogo chuckling she realized she had stuck a paw on her chest and cooed the same way she had when she had seen Nick with Finnick in the ice cream parlor. She couldn't help it- it was-cute! To her surprise Nick just turned around and shrugged before he hopped onto the massive couch where Bogo joined him.

"Carrots, this is my Mom, her name is Clara."

Clara stood there beaming a smile that threatened to blind everyone in the room and Judy squeaked as she was snatched into her arms. She had to shake the surprise off and ended up laughing as the older female tipped her head in the same way and repeated the motion she had just seen her take with Nick. Prey mammals didn't mark their children, but the motion was recognized and Nick and Bogo were both grinning as Clara sat her back on the floor when her ears finally relaxed. Bogo had turned the television on and him and Nick were getting engrossed in a program as Clara giggled again. "Judy, it's nice to finally meet you. Would you mind helping me get dinner on the table?"

Judy agreed and followed her through a dining area into the kitchen. The way the place was decorated indicated a very eclectic personality. It was odd to say the least with how Bogo kept his office and the stark contrast of the neat and tidy space compared to the insanity of styles in his home were almost overwhelming. The strangest of it all was that the walls seemed to be covered in some king of plexi-glass that protected the same odd art that was all over the front door. Her ears dropped when she heard the older female giggling and knew she had been caught gawking at their home. She looked to see Clara looking at her affectionately as she blushed. "Don't worry about it dear. Just help me get things on the table and look around all you want."

Judy could only nod as she made her way to the counter. She didn't even have to ask what to help with or how. In all the different types of mammals homes she had been in visiting friends or for a work related issues she had never seen one set up like this. There wasn't anywhere in any room she had been through that didn't accommodate for smaller mammals. Odd built in steps were at certain intervals in the kitchen and she had no problem getting to the counters or grabbing things and taking them back to the dining room, though some of the large bowls were awkward to carry. She thought the most fascinating thing was how they had the chairs at the table set. Odd but effective. Six chairs all sized for large mammals but half of them looked almost like they had another chair sitting on the seat for a smaller mammal to comfortably be at the same level as the larger.

As she reached for a dish Clara stopped her telling her it was something special for Nick. Judy perked her ears when she heard Nick and Bogo yelling excitedly from the next room.

"GO! GO! GO! YEEES! TOUCHDOWN!" Nick was screaming as her ears tilted again. _Football? He watches football?_

"NOO! YOU LOUSY NO GOOD…" she heard Bogo say before his voice petered off to grumbling.

Clara giggled and motioned to the other room after seeing the curiosity on her face. "Go take a peek dear. I'll get the rest taken care of."

The doe gave her a grateful and excited grin before she hopped to the door way peeking into the next room. Nick was standing on the couch doing some kind of victory dance as Bogo turned his face to him in a dead stare.

"HA! I told you the Pioneers were going to win!" Nicks arms shot up as his tail wagged from side to side. The look on Bogo's face was still that cold stone except for a slight twitch of his eye and Judy was sure if she hadn't seen it she wouldn't believe it when the old bull grabbed a throw pillow that was sitting next to him that was as large as Nick. He swung it so fast it was a blur. It slammed the fox into the back of the couch with a yelp and Nick looked up over it as Bogo laughed. "Oh it's like that is it?" Nick asked with a faux grimace. He tossed the pillow to the floor and narrowed his eyes on Bogo as he stood.

Bogo lifted a brow and shook his head trying to hide his smile "Don't do it boy." And there it was, that look, that same look he had when he pulled the handle on the train blowing the air horn. Ornery, excited, playful- ears pinned back with a devilish grin that screamed trouble, just before he dropped to all fours and pounced.

"OOF- hahaha, dang it boy. Wait til I get my paws on you."

Judy had both paws over her mouth because she wasn't sure if she was going to scream or laugh hysterically. Bogo had rolled off the couch as Nick slammed into him and the bull was now standing in the living room in front of the couch. Nick was currently laughing and growling as he climbed around his body like a freaking squirrel. Now she understood why Bogo was so good at wrestling with other mammals in the precinct that were so much smaller than him without actually hurting them. Every time Nick would get a grip on him he would toss him across the floor and the fox would roll with it like he had expected it before he turned on a dime and pounced again. The fact that Bogo was banging him around and it didn't faze him a bit also made her realize why it hurt him so much when she punched him. He was used to someone slamming his whole body around, not just landing a blow in a single spot.

She turned her head when she heard Clara giggling quietly. The older female had lowered to her knees and was crouching next to Judy. "That's why we don't have any tables in there anymore. Those two do this just about everytime he comes over here." The look of absolute adoration on the cows face set a warm feeling in Judy's chest.

"Not the tail Boy! Ah! Hahaha. Cut that out! Why you little…"

"Grrrr." Nick growled as he latched onto the sleeve of Bogos shirt and was tugging as the bull tried to roll over again.

"You asked for it Boy!" Bogo was grinning from ear to ear as Nick jumped away with a look of sheer panic on his face.

"No," Nick tried to look around but was absolutely transfixed on Bogo as he stood from the floor with one paw held high. The fox was shaking his head and looked like he may have forgotten how to blink as he stared at Bogos closed paw. "MOOOOOOM- HELP! HE'S GOT THE - (Gasp).

Judy tilted her head and furrowed her brow as Clara started laughing and Nick backed a few steps away until Bogo opened his paw. She was craning her neck trying to see what he was holding but there was no way she could miss the absolutely devious smile on his face. A smile that grew even wider as Nick let off something between a begging whine and an excited squeal as a chunk of rope with a large knot tied at the end flopped onto the lifted part of his arm. _What the?_ Judy thought as she watched Nicks eyes go wider and his pupils turned to pinpricks locking onto the object Bogo was holding. It was like watching a snake charmer! Bogo swayed it back and forth and Nicks head followed every movement as his tail started wagging behind him. Judy couldn't take her eyes off of them but her ears tipped back as Clara started talking in a low voice beside her.

"Canines have several traditions and habits they really don't share with other species when it comes to family and how they bond. It took us a little while to figure everything out. This is how they play, even as adults." Judy looked at her and saw her leaning into her own paw with that same look of adoration again. "There are some things about canines that will never change, and there is a part of them that never grows up." She looked back to see Nick almost bouncing where he stood as Bogo started chuckling. She already knew he was a big kit at heart and bit her lip trying not to giggle when a resounding noise pierced the room as Bogo let go of the pressure on the squeaky toy the rope was attached to. - _SQUEEEE-AAAAK-_ Nick dropped his head just before he jumped and grabbed the knot with his teeth.

Judy was gawking through giggles as she watched Nick tugging and pulling on the rope Bogo was holding. The foxes ears had pinned back and he was shaking his head from side to side growling as he pressed all his paws into the floor trying to yank it from his fathers paw. _Father- I just thought that._

Clara stayed quietly biting her lip watching the little bunny at the door. The doe had giggled several times and a sniffle as she wiped her eyes made the older female smile as she finally stood again. _Maybe this won't be as hard as we thought. She really is an emotional little thing though isn't she?_ She cleared her throat and both males stopped. Nicks ears tilted forward as he looked out of the corner of his eye and Bogo smirked as he shook his paw. Judy watched Clara give him a chastising little grin when Nick growled again before the bull shrugged. "Dinner is on the table boys."

Nick dropped the rope as Bogo chuckled and Judy shook her head when he rushed past her into the dining area. _Figures, the only thing that probably could have pulled him away from that is food._ She turned around and found him waiting next to one of the large chairs with a paw extended to her and he chuckled as her ears dropped half way with a little blush rushing through them. She rolled her eyes but was smiling as he helped her into the large chair and showed her how to sit in the odd furniture. She knew it was silly, but she was probably always going to blush or get embarrassed when he did things that people had stopped doing a century ago. Apparently chivalry was not completely dead as Bogo pulled out the chair for Clara as well. The doe dropped her eyes when they gave each other and affectionate nuzzle and completely missed the look shared between father and son as Bogo sat in the chair across from her. Nick was seated on her right while Clara was on the left.

"What did you fix Mom?" Nick asked as he looked around the table with a tipped brow.

"Oh the usual Bugga Boo, there are scallops and vegetables and potatoes. Oh- I found a new recipe I thought Judy might like and made some rabbit gravy."

"Rabbit gravy?" he tilted his head to one side curiously and Judy was looking between the two as Nick made a motion asking for her to explain whatever she was talking about.

Clara giggled as bowls were passed around the table and each person took what they wanted on their plate. "It's made from Cauliflower and has a lot of fresh herbs and spices in it."

Judy tried to stifle her laughter as Nick made a sour face when she held up a ladle bowl and passed it to him. He sniffed it a few times and cocked his head before dipping a finger in it and tasting it. Judy had never heard of it but was even more curious when he poured it all over his food and passed it back to Bogo. "What do you think Bugga Boo?"

Nick folded a napkin over his lap and Judy was looking around the room. He noticed her staying quiet and not talking which wasn't out of her character when she was nervous or in a strange place. It was the almost imperceptible tick of her ears that had really caught his attention. "I like it, needs a little salt though." When Judy seemed to fail to notice they were all watching her Nick shook his head, the only time she got that out of sync with her surroundings was if something had caught her attention through those satellite ears. "Carrots, what is it?"

Her ears swiveled again and her face scrunched up as she gave him a guilty look. "I'm sorry, I just, there's this ticking and I can't figure out where it is coming from."

"Ticking?" Nick looked at both his parents who just shrugged.

"I can barely hear it. I think that's why it caught my attention. Is there an old clock or somethi-"

SNAP-CLICK-PING!

~SPLAT~

Judy's jaw dropped as Nicks plate flipped from the table and all the food that was on it splattered all over his face and chest as his eyes scrunched closed and ears flicked back. The plate that Clara had said was something for him had some kind of lever on the bottom of it that was attached to the table holding the plate from moving any further after the spring under it had popped and flung the food on it right in his face. The ticking stopped. Judy had a mortified look on her face as Nick tilted his head back to his mother and his eyes slowly opened as he deadpanned her. The cow just kept eating like nothing had happened and Bogo sat his fork down and tilted his head. He lifted slightly and leaned over running a finger through the gravy that was dripping from Nicks head and stuck it in his mouth before smacking his lips a few times. "You're right son. Needs some salt. Hold still."

Nick tilted his head as his ears dipped back and Judy could see his lips trembling. Not in a 'I'm going to kill you' kind of way. He was trying – _desperately_ -not to laugh as he closed his eyes when Bogo started shaking a salt shaker over his head. Judy had one side of her lip curled as she looked between them all because she was pretty sire she had lost her mind. _I'm dreaming. This is some kind of weird hallucination. I knew I shouldn't have eaten that chocolate earlier! They said it was bad for rabbits. No, No, No. This is too weird for that. It's the twilight zone. Ha-I'm some imaginary character some strange mammal is writing about… or maybe I got into some kind of night howlers- WAKE UP JUDY! Pinch yourself or something!_ The rambling thoughts of her mind were lost as Bogo leaned over the table and _licked_ Nicks whole face.

"Judy dear, would you like some gravy?" Clara asked and she tried to tear her eyes away from Nick and Bogo. The fox had tilted his head to one side and looked like he was trying not to choke on his own tongue. His chest convulsed and his teeth were grit in a pathetic attempt to keep the hissing from escaping his muzzle. _Act normal. If you are hallucinating don't let his family and your_ _ **boss**_ _think you are crazy!_

She swallowed as she finally turned to her plate again nodding her head. "Yes," it was the only word she was capable of spitting out when Nick finally started laughing so hard the table was jostling. Her head turned when she heard the front door open and from the corner of her eye she could see Clara pouring gravy on her plate as Bogo stood up straight and Nick wiped his face off. "You're late for dinner!" Bogo growled playfully and Judy ticked her head as a flash of white darted into the room.

"Snarlov?!" she almost whispered.

The white wolf stopped looking at her for a moment before turning to Nick and cocking his head. "Yep, the ding dong is my brother." He leaned over sniffing him as Nick looked up at him with narrowed eyes that slammed shut as he licked the other side of his face. Nick was bouncing in his chair again as the wolf stood up and sucked on his teeth, "Eww-Too much salt."

 _I'm crazy-I'm crazy-I'm crazy._ "EEP!" Judy's ears dropped and shoulders scrunched into her neck as something warm and gooey started dripping down her face. Nicks jaw was hanging open as Snarlov took a step back and she could see him whispering to someone one the other side of the doorway he had come through.

"MOM!" Nick started to scramble from his chair until she raised her finger and shook her head. He sat back down looking like he might chew his lip off as he cringed. Bogo sat back in his seat as Clara pulled Judy's face to look at her. The rabbit's eye was twitching and nose going a million miles an hour as she looked up at Nicks mother.

"Judy dear. When we adopted Nick we had to learn a lot of things about canines. A few years after we adopted him we adopted Jimmy. We found out through a lot of research and some hard work that creating a pack was not as simple as just saying it was so. There is a lot of body language and silent communication. This is how canines create a pack and form the bonds that make a family. We didn't just adopt them, they adopted us too. Nick adores you, but he has been afraid to tell you how things work for him and the only way to fix that, is to make you one of us." Judy looked across the table to see Nick had flicked his ears back and was giving her nervous glances with a lowered head. He couldn't keep his eyes on her. Bogo was smiling patiently as she looked back to the older female. "When a wolf chooses a mate, it is the alpha male who accepts a new member into their pack and consents to their pairing. When it is a fox, it is the vixens who are responsible for making that choice for their children. We aren't canines, so we had to make a few adjustments to compensate. Grooming is their primary way of showing affection and bonding with a new member of their family."

 _Gravy…._ Judy closed her eyes knowing this was the reason Nick had so many problems taking their relationship to another level. Even after they were engaged he still acted like he was afraid to touch her. It wasn't like they weren't intimate but there was a place he would never go farther than. She loved him for it, he was always gentle, romantic and attentive, but at the same time she had felt a longing and sorrow for not being able to do the same things for him. Now she understood it was more than just a nervousness about being with her. This was a cultural and species issue she hadn't considered. When Clara leaned towards her she dipped her face into her palm and fought not to sob as the older female licked her head accepting her as Nicks mate and making her part of his family. Bright purple eyes opened to see Nick looking like he might hyperventilate as his pupils dilated and he jumped onto the table sliding across the top before she was smothered in his fur.

His mother sat back giggling and Bogo was chuckling as Nick rolled his head around hers. Judy almost lost her breath from the new scent that was coming from her fox as he ground it into her fur. She always thought the scent he left on her was his mark, now that she could smell it the thought might as well have slapped her in the face when she remembered that predators had glands for secretions to mark someone and he had never used them with her before. She was laughing through tears at how hard he had wrapped around her and the new sounds he was making. Purrs, growls, and yips in odd patterns rounded before his chest was vibrating in a way she had never heard or felt. His voice almost seemed to be rolling through his lungs, rumbling. When she finally managed to get her arms free and wrap them around his neck she pushed her head under his chin and imitated the motions he had just made and he stopped cold.

Judy would have been petrified at his stillness if it hadn't been for the fact that she looked over to see Clara scrunch her nose as she smiled and nodded making a quick snap with her teeth. The doe took it as a cue and repeated the same motion again before she nipped one of Nicks ears and licked his cheek. He may as well have been butter because he let off the softest whining sigh she had ever heard as his tail curled around her and the rest of him melted.

"Welp, it's officially official!" Snarlov chirped as he walked over and stood next to Nick and Judy's chair. He bobbed his head a few times before he leaned down and licked her head. "Welcome to the family Carr- er, Hopps."

"Carrots is good," Judy giggled as Nick kept rumbling and marking her. Each time he found a spot he wasn't satisfied with he would roll his cheek over it again and sniff her to make sure he thought it was sufficient. The wolf shook his head as she looked up biting her lip before he turned back towards the doorway.

"Get in here you big scaredy cat." Snarlov barked and Bogo was laughing as a red furry paw landed on the door frame followed by two perked ears, a nervous crinkled nose and twitching whiskers.

"Is it safe yet? Is she going to kill anyone?"

Judy heard a familiar voice and her ears sprang up as her eyes shot to the doorway. "Delgato?!"

Snarlov snorted as the big cat finally came into the room and made a few quick movements that had Judy blinking. It took him all of three seconds to remove a section of the chair Nick had been sitting in so he could use it himself. Obviously he had been here many times. The wolf laughed as she quirked one brow. "What happens in this house stays in this house Carrots," Snarlov smirked as he hopped onto the tigers lap.

"Do I look like a chair to you?" Delgato asked as Snarlov leaned into his chest.

"Nope, you just look like MINE."

"Keep that up and I'll bite you," Delgato growled.

"Uh hu, and you know what will happen if you do," Snarlov almost swooned as Delgato narrowed his eyes. Judy blinked as Clara started waving her arms around shaking her head pointing at Nick.

Every head in the room turned when she gasped as Nick wrapped his jaw around her shoulder pressing his teeth down and growled. Judy had her fingers twisted into his fur and closed her eyes as she leaned into his neck.

"I'll be damned," Snarlov whispered. His ears dropped as Bogo turned and lowered his brow miming the word 'language.' "Sorry Dad."

Judy was trying not to pant as she opened her eyes. Snarlov, Delgato and Bogo were all chuckling as Clara shook her head. Her ears turned a bright red as they fell and she tried to pull away from the fox still latched to her shoulder. Clara shook her head and made a shushing motion and Judy froze as the older female gave the two younger males in the room a stern glare. "He will snap out of this pretty soon Judy. It's an instinct. When he feels like you smell right he will let go. There are certain 'words' no one should say when a fox is in this state. All you have to do is let him know you are there and he will stop trying to err – he'll move his mouth again. Vixens are the ones in a relationship with a tod who are the so called alphas. Just let him know you are controlling things and it will be fine."

 _~Yeah right~ I am definitely not in control of any of this!_ The fact that Nick growled again and his voice vibrated through her skin sending shivers down her spine that caused her to suck in another breath only made it worse. Snarlov's eyes went wide when she whimpered and he shook his head. "Hopps, just lean into him like you were before."

 _How the hell am I supposed to move when he's…he's…god he smells good._ Judy looked up and sawSnarlov suck his lip into his mouth and Delgato leaned back to look at him as he looked up at the ceiling keeping his eyes off the doe. _CRAP! Stupid wolves-he already knows!_ Clara scowled again just before she picked up the largest spoon on the table filled with potatoes and Judy was sure her eyes were going to fall out when she flicked it and a splat landed on the wolfs head. Delgato was laughing and Bogo had covered his mouth trying not to roll on the floor just before all hell broke loose and food was flying everywhere. _They're all crazy_! The only thing she could do to keep what sanity she thought she had left was to bury her head in Nicks neck as her fingers curled further into his fur and suck in his scent.

Nick shifted lifting his head as his nostrils flared. He sat up straight and blinked a few times before he looked down at the doe his arms were still wrapped around. Judy was looking up at him with her mouth partially split as he leaned towards her and sniffed several time. Her ears dropped and turned another shade of red as Nick looked at her like she was the setting sun. The one thing foxes and rabbits have in common was that both species mate for life. Sex is one thing, mating is completely different and the blush in her ears was due to the fact that in less the ten minutes of time passing the fox had managed to do the one thing all rabbits knew was the sign they had found their soul mate. Because for the first time in her life, Judy was in heat. And in a world where there are millions of rabbits, it was extremely rare.

"You smell like…..rabbit gravy." Nick smiled before he licked the length of one side of her muzzle.

Judy leaned into it and he wiped a tear away as she shook her head, because it wasn't his mothers food he was referring to. "You're all crazy."

Snarlov; Cut it out- Don't you put that in my pants! (Gasp")

Delgato; Bite me.

Splat

Nicks ears almost tipped back as Judy grabbed his muzzle with both her paws and ran her face over his the same way he had with her. "Nick, I love crazy."

Clara; Don't you leave the dinner room until you are finished eating first! I don't want the rest of the house dirty.

Bogo; Speaking of dirty, Come here babe you got a little something right…

Clara; (Gasp) Don't you get fresh with me in front of the children Auggi!

The fox leaned in and closed his eyes inhaling her scent like it was euphoria. "You smell like….MINE."

Nick and Judy fell into a heated lovers kiss as food kept flying.

Splat

Snarlov; I'm going to make you clean that later!

Delgato; Wrong choice of words Loverboy.

Snarlov; Stop looking at me like that Delli! Don't you dare do anything like that in front of my parents!

Delgato; If you can't beat em, join em….

Clara; (giggle) Auggie, we're going to have lots of pretty grandbabies.

Bogo; "Hmmm. I think I agree."

Judy forget everything in the world and all the things around her while her and Nick were holding each other, the only thought in her mind;

 _I love crazy, I love crazy, I love crazy - crazy - rabbit gravy…_


	3. Chapter 3

My family has the weirdest relationships on the planet. What everyone else sees as rude and cruel behavior is an inside joke with us and the way we talk to each other leaves people stumped when we laugh about it. My sister is the only female on the planet I understand and you would think we hated each other if you weren't paying attention for very long. I am fighting with 'G. Gus' right now and it sucks. That guy is a real 'bummer'. Missing my sister- Trying to cheer myself up through imaginative stories….I need some mushy-funny- happy….weird….fetish?... Maybe…. Can't thank those who encouraged this to continue enough even if it isn't liked by some, because it does make me smile. Be warned- this is cheeeezaay.

Disclaimer; I do not own Zootopia or its characters.

* * *

 **Fooz Ball**

The day at the precinct had been of non sequential circumstances. Mundane duties had Nick and Judy both wanting to escape the daily toil but as they walked into the station Nick froze. Judy was looking over him as he narrowed his eyes and followed his line of vision to the second floor. Bogo, Snarlov and Delgato were all standing on the second story looking over the edge watching him. The cat had a paw over his mouth and was clearly speaking in a lowered voice as Nick narrowed his eyes again.

"What is it? Judy asked and saw him looking all around the open police station. His eyes stopped and narrowed on every officer or group of mammals just before his shoulders deflated and he shook his head.

"They are up to something."

Judy looked around but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary until she realized what was out of the ordinary was the three males standing on the second story watching them. Bogo's family didn't make a habit out of advertising who they were or how they were related, so seeing them all standing at the top rail in open view talking to each other in a conspiratorial fashion was a dead giveaway. "What?"

Nick looked around not seeing anything amiss and shrugged. "Whatever it is better not have anything to do with me." The fact that he looked back up and narrowed his eyes on the trio of males and they dispersed without giving him a second thought was enough for him to be satisfied and leave for the locker room. He took his normal shower shrugging off the grime off the day and tossed his uniform into his locker deciding to have it cleaned at the station tomorrow before leaving the locker room and leaning against the wall. Judy always took a little longer to get cleaned after the day, she had said it was partially due to the fact that all the females in the locker room had a tendency to gossip and chat while they were getting dressed. As social a creature as she was she couldn't help but get caught up in it sometimes so he never brought a complaint about it. It was also a way to keep tabs on other officers. The little bunny gossiped just like every other female on the planet and Nick had made a habit out of listening to her going on about her coworkers.

When she finally came out of the locker room he extended an arm smirking as a light blush ran through her cheeks. It didn't keep her from wrapping around his arm as they started to leave the station. Nick rolled his eyes as Clawhauser swooned and shot him a wink as they passed the desk. "So what's the gossip today?"

Judy snickered as she leaned into his side. "Not much, why would you care anyway? The only one on our shift that's a girl is Francine. The rest of them are all on the night shift."

Nick looked around for ears before he replied "She is partnered with my brother you know. Knowledge is power Sweetheart."

Judy rolled her eyes. "You mean ammo for you to blackmail someone with?"

Nick chuckled as he cast her raised brows. "Like you have room to talk about blackmailing anyone." She stuck her tongue out as they were walking to the door and he laughed.

"The girls are all going over to the stag meet later, Francine said she invited Snarlov but he said he had plans."

Nick perked his ears as they kept walking. She looked up and saw him waiting and giggled. "Nothing big, I guess there is some kind of tournament or something going on. I didn't even know they still played foosball anywhere." Judy almost fell forward as Nick froze. She stumbled and turned to find him in the oddest state she thought she had ever seen. Of course so far everything she had learned about him in recent months- that wasn't saying much. His foot that he had extended to take a step had stopped at the heel on the floor and was suspended like he was about to step down. She reached for his arm and as she touched him all the fur around his neck and tail puffed out as one of his cheeks started to tic. It wasn't his eye twitching; it was like a muscle spasm in his face that kept squinting his eye. "Nick?"

Snarlov was standing at the back entrance watching as Delgato waited around the corner. He snickered when the fox puffed out and the cat looked over his shoulder grinning. "Looks like he got the message."

Nick heard chuckling and his ears pinned back as he spun narrowing his eyes on the white wolf.

"RUN!" Snarlov screamed as Delgato snatched him from the floor and took off laughing out the back door.

Judy stepped back as Nick _growled._ "Nick?" In all the time they had been together she had never seen an aggressive bone in his body, and the predatory slits of his eyes had every instinct firing as he lowered his head and spoke through grit teeth. "Carrots, find out where Bogo went." She stood there blinking as he dropped to all fours and shot through the lobby like a wild animal chasing his prey. He ran through the lobby shooting out the back door as Judy stood talking to Clawhauser.

The fox scrambled past a few mammals who did a double take seeing him on all fours and he stopped at the street, standing and scanning everywhere trying to find where his brother had gone. A roar caused him to turn and his fur bristled as Snarlov stuck his head out the window of a car. "JIMMY! I SWEAR IF YOU…GRRRRR!" The wolf was laughing as Nick started running towards them and tires squealed peeling the rubber as the car shot off with the wolf blowing raspberries and the cat yowling in laughter.

Judy rushed out the door and found Nick grinding his teeth as his paw clasped around a street sign. The low growl still rolling through his chest and closed muzzle as he squinted down the road as she approached had her fur standing on end. "Nick?"

The fox turned and looked at her extended paw snatching the paper from her scowling as he read over the message Bogo had left for him at the desk 'Meadowlands Central.' He crumpled it tossing it to the ground as he stomped off towards their car with Judy following cautiously behind him before sliding into the seat. After watching him cinching his jaw as he popped the clutch and shot into the open road she had tipped back into the seat seeing him angry. When the car was halted at an intersection where several officers were having what appeared to be a casual conversation she was furrowing her brows not understanding what the traffic had been stopped for. The low growl from Nick had her ears falling as she watched him white knuckling the steering wheel. His eyes were darting everywhere as he kept grinding his teeth together and she curled her paws into her lap as she sat silently beside him. She couldn't believe he was actually cursing under his breath as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. She had never heard him swearing before even if he was keeping it so low she could barely hear it as she turned to face out the window with a blush running through her cheeks.

"This is an F'n set up." _I'll kill them. I swear if they get there before I do and this turns into another one of those-_ Nick thoughts tapered off as his nostrils flared in anger and he finally caught the scent of the rabbit sitting next to him. He blinked as he looked over and cringed seeing her sitting in the next seat. The little bunny was biting her lip as she kept her ears lowered and watched her own fingers as she idly twisted them together. He kept his foot on the clutch as he reached out and brushed a finger over her cheek. She jolted and gave him a guilty look as his face turned to sorrow. _I can smell it. I'm scaring her._ He took a deep breath as he leaned in the seat cupping a paw around her cheek and smiling as she leaned into his paw. "Judy, I'm sorry." Every trace of anger washed away when the little doe leaned into his palm and started licking his paw. _Amazing, she is absolutely amazing._

Judy leaned under his chin as he leaned over the seat and was licking her head and cheek as she nudged into his neck. They both jumped as a horn blared behind them. Nick chuckled as he left the intersection and the two were holding paws as he started looking around. "Things are pretty secretive with my family Carrots. I know I don't talk about the past too often but I screwed up pretty good when I was younger. My family sorta has a way of making us face our own problems and there is one I haven't been able to fix." Judy tilted her head looking at him and he sighed. "I could tell you everything that led up to me leaving my parents home and giving up on things, but the truth is it all boils down to being a fox. That's all the world ever saw me as, my parents never did and knew I could be better, it just took this crazy little rabbit bouncing into my life to make me realize it."

Judy blushed as he smiled at her. "Why haven't I heard anything about it before? I mean why haven't you been able to fix it?" she asked and he slumped into the seat as they kept driving. The fox was looking in every direction as he kept rubbing his thumb over her paw he was holding. "Well because they couldn't ever catch me." He smirked at her as she raised both brows. "They aren't having that problem with _me_ anymore….

Delgato stuck his head around the corner and crouched as his face turned to a sinister grin. His ears pinned back as he started stalking around the corner with a smile only a predator could bear as he inched forward along the ground on all fours, a cat ready to pounce.

Finnick shoved the cooler into the back of his van before tossing the bat in after it and slamming the back door. His ears went up and eye twitched as caught a familiar scent and turned spotting the cat sneaking around the corner. "AWW HELL NO!" He screamed as Delgato's smile grew into a Cheshire like grimace. The small fox darted to the open door of his van and fell back in a yelp as Snarlov's head popped into the seat "Hiya buddy!"

"Fuck!" the small fox hissed as he ran the opposite direction. Delgato jumped far enough to land in front of him and turned peeling up the grass with his claws grinning at the little fox who had fallen in front of him "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Grrrr, I aint got no mother," Finnick growled as he jumped between the cats legs and darted into the large park looking for somewhere to hide. "Why don't you crazy mammals leave me alone!?" Finnick yelped as he slid on the grass trying to avoid the arms of the wolf who had jumped from behind a bush.

"Because you are gonna let him fix it." Snarlov growled as he snatched the little fox by the scuff holding him off the ground.

"NO!" Finnick barked as he swung his arms and claws at the larger canine.

Nick looked out the window and the tires screeched as he slammed the breaks. Judy lunged forward with her seat belt catching her as the car came to a stop and died without the gears being shifted as Nick rushed from the car. She ran out after him curling her brow as he stopped in front of the familiar brown van. "Crap!" Nick hissed when he saw the driver's door open and ran the other direction with Judy looking around baffled.

"You're looking for Finnick?" She chased him into a large secluded park and slid on the grass seeing Delgato, Snarlov and Bogo standing at several different places across from each other. Nick stood there with wide eyes as Snarlov held Finnick up by the scuff of the neck while the small fox writhed in his grasp growling.

The angry scowl was as hard as iron as it landed on the red fox and Finnick clenched his fists as he glared at Nick. "When I get outta this I'm kickin your tail fox." Nick cringed as Snarlov laughed.

"Like you're big enough to get out of anything at all." Snarlov teased. Finnick growled louder and was swiping at his paws again. "Who want to play Fooz ball?"

The small fox's eyes went wide as Snarlov lifted him into the air "NAW- THIS SHIT AINT FUNNAAAAAAAA!"

Judy stood open mouthed as she watched Snarlov throw the small fox to a laughing cat. The tiger jumped into the air catching him like a football as Nick scrambled.

"Stop that! Give me that fox!" Nick barked as he ran towards the large feline.

"You gonna fix it?" Delgato asked as he held Finnick out shaking the growling fox lightly.

"NO!" Finnick ground out again as he wriggled. Delgato shrugged as he threw him back to Snarlov and before long the small fox was being tossed around between the three males like it was an everyday occurrence.

"COME ON!" Nick screamed as he rushed from one male to another trying to catch the smaller fox.

Judy squeaked as his mother nudged her from behind "Hello dear." The doe blinked looking back at the field with an open maw. "This is between the boys sweetheart, it would be best if you didn't get involved."

"BUT-"Judy started and the look Clara gave her had her cringing.

"I promise no one will get hurt and this is something that needs to happen, it is overdue." Judy bit her lip looking over her shoulder as the cow led her to a bench. As Clara took a seat Judy nervously hopped beside her watching. "Did Bugga Boo explain what Fooz ball is?" she asked and Judy was twisting her fingers as she shook her head.

Clara giggled as she folded her paws in her lap. "No one ever gets dropped so don't worry. They have been playing since Nick was little. It was a game at first, now it has changed a bit. When the **F** oxes are acting the f **OO** ls they get tossed around until they feel drunk on boo **Z** and either come to their senses or spit out what the problem is. Just keep watching dear."

It happened so fast Judy almost missed it. Nick twisted one of his feet as Bogo leaned to catch the smaller fox and jumped on his shoulder before bouncing in the air and catching him. He tucked the smaller fox under his arm and rolled as the bull turned and Nick may have missed it, but Bogo smiled. The three other males all gave each other a glance before Nick turned in a crouch with Finnick under his arm. He narrowed his eyes looking at all of them and Judy blinked when Finnick looked up at him scowling before he sighed and folded his arms going limp in the larger foxes grasp. Clara giggled as Judy gaped. "Nick doesn't lose very often."

It was blurring. The way that fox twisted and curled around the males on the field had her ticking her eyes in every direction as he dodged under legs, hopped over shoulders and sprung past arms and feet. All the while Finnick had this look on his face that screamed 'bored and sick of this'. Snarlov was laughing as he lunged and Nick jumped up landing on his shoulder. The wolf tipped forward as Delgato pounced and Nick jumped again landing on his head and rolling down his back.

"REEEEAAAR! YOU MANGY CURR! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!" Nick was laughing as he ran the other direction while Finnick just hung under his arm. Judy noted Bogo had stopped and was looking the same direction.

"Yeah if you can catch me you OOMPH!" Nick fell back with Finnick and they both looked up shaking their heads after hitting a solid mass of muscles. "Oh crap," Nick muttered.

"Language!" Bogo barked as he folded his arms over his chest grinning.

The massive rhino chuckled as he held both foxes in his massive paws. "Ai laddie, that's one word for the mess ur in."

"NO NO NO- THIS IS CHEATING(YELP)!" Nick barked as he was snatched off the ground. "Uncle Horny! WAIT! NO NO! NOOOOOOO!"

Judy's jaw fell open as Nick flew through the air one direction and Finnick went the other. Bogo caught Nick while Snarlov caught Finnick. The small fox just sighed as the wolf chuckled "You gonna let him fix it yet?" Finnick narrowed his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest and Snarlov shrugged before him and Delgato were tossing him back and forth again.

Bogo had spun with Nick then tossed him to the cat. Delgato was beaming as Nick looked up at him shaking his head "Hello mangy curr!"

"NO DON'T!"

The large feline was purring as he licked Nick from neck to chin and the fox was struggling in his grasp before he went flat as Delgato held him out by the scruff "I hate you."

Delgato laughed as he watched Snarlov toss Finnick to Bogo "And I'll stop calling you a mangy curr when you fix this cause I'm sick of hearing about it from my wolf." Nick sighed as he was lifted and was as limp as Finnick as he flew to Snarlov.

The wolf caught him snickering as Nick narrowed his eyes and huffed before his brother spun around several times. Bogo tossed Finnick to Delgato and Snorlov hurled nick to Bogo. The bull dropped him on the ground and the fox swayed before he cupped both paws over his muzzle "Hrk! Ugh I'm too old for this sh-"

"LANGUAGE!"

Nick shook his head before standing straight and scowling at Bogo with his paws on his hips. "I am 33 years old!"

"Then start acting like it and FIX IT!"

Nick pointed at Delgato who was holding Finnick. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIX _THAT_! IT'S NOT LIKE I CAN MAKE…Him…" _Alpha, alpha, male, father, I just screamed at…oh crap….Mom is going to tan me!_

Clara had stood and was frowning as Nick gave her a glance and lowered his eyes as she showed her teeth. The bull in front of him had lowered and a puff of air rushed over his fur as he snorted. "Did you just raise your voice to me boy? I will stick my foot so far up your tail you'll taste the polish your mother uses on my hooves. FIX IT."

Nick looked back to his mother and Judy watched as the cow lowered her head in an odd tilt and showed her teeth again. It was obvious the female was the one running things as far as Nick was concerned as he cringed with a sigh, let his shoulders fall and said 'Yes sir' before turning and walking into the middle of the four males. Finnick was hanging in the grasp of Delgato and the cat grinned before tossing him into the grass where he rolled not far from Nicks feet. The small fox looked around seeing McHorn standing at the entrance to the park and a large male at each corner blocking his escape as he stood frowning up at Nick.

The red fox scratched his neck nervously before shaking his head "Look Finn I…"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"You know why."

Finnick curled his lip "Why did you ever pick me up to begin with hu?!"

"Well I wasn't going to leave a kid out in the middle of the desert eating wild scorpions and living under a box in the sand!"

"WHY NOT? YA LEFT ANYWAY DIDN'T YA?"

"I was wrong alright?!"

Finnick looked at him shaking his head again "No ya wasn't. I'm a fox what do you expect?"

"I expect better! You're better than what you're doing Finnick."

"I'm a fox, this is what all foxes do! This is what you taught me."

Nick dead panned him as his tail swished and he waved to himself. Finnick scoffed "So you're the exception to the rule, don't mean I am. Why the hell ya keep bothering me anyway, you got a new life just leave again!"

"I WAS WRONG! I KEEP BOTHERING YOU BECAUSE I LO-ugh…"

Finnicks eyes went wide and Judy's eye was twitching as she watched Nick sigh and lean into his knees on the ground. She looked around and saw all the other males grinning and Clara was smiling as Nick laid on the ground in front of the smaller fox with his tail swinging across the grass. "It's a canine thing dear," the cow said as Judy shook her head. _Never, I am never going to understand canines._

"CUT IT OUT NICK!" Finnick growled as the fox in front of him started inching forward on the grass. "I MEAN IT, KNOCK IT OFF!" Nick rolled over several times and Judy blinked as she saw Finnicks tail start twitching. The small fox looked around nervously before he dropped to all fours and tried to back away as Nick inched forward again. Nick snorted and Finnick shook his head just before the red fox pounced and Judy tilted her head as they started growling at each other and wrestling. She was standing there with her mouth hanging open after watching them chasing each other around chewing on each others ears before Nick caught the smaller fox and plopped in the grass scratching under his chin. The sight of Finnick leaning his head back and purring was almost enough to cause her to fall over.

Clara giggling shocked her back to reality as she looked up at Nicks mother. "He's only nineteen. Most mammals think he is a lot older because of his voice. Most foxes take a mate when they are in their early twenties. Nick never thought he would find a mate by the time he was 27. Finnick was 12 by then. He was 7 when Nick found him. We weren't on the best of terms. But it doesn't change anything."

Judy looked back to Nick to see him smirking as he continued petting the smaller foxes chin. "What? Did you think we lived under a bridge or something? That extra room in the apartment that I keep locked, it's his. I adopted him, he's my son."

"B-B… He…th…ju..wh…" Judy stuttered and Nick stood sitting Finnick down. They all watched as her face ticked. _That's why he was angry? He was being protective?_ Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed in the grass.

Delgato curled around Snarlov purring "I think we broke her."

"Yeah well we fixed that," the wolf pointed at Nick curling around Judy and Finnick peeking over his arm at the doe.

McHorn grinned as he stood next to Bogo and Clara leaned into her husband's side. Nick turned and thumped Finnick in the rear with his foot as he pet Judy's head. "Flash has a job waiting for you at the D.M.V. If you aren't there Tuesday I'll hunt you down and burn your tail." Finnick rolled his eyes until he looked around seeing all the other mammals and nodded his head. "Good. Right now I need to take my mate home and baby her, too much stress isn't good for bunnies so I'm going to fix dinner."

Judy's eyes fluttered as she boroughed into his neck mumbling "You can't cook Nick."

"That's not true, there is one thing I'm really good at making." The doe looked up at him half lidded as she frowned. "I'm really good at making rabbit gravy" he whispered.

Snarlov chuckled "I think he got over those problems he was having."

"NIIIIICK!" she whined as she pulled her ears over her face changing colors in his lap as he licked her cheek.

"What's rabbit gravy?" Finnick asked as he looked around and they all broke out laughing.

"Seriously, I don't get it…."


	4. Chapter 4

Am I listening to my reviews-yeeees. Inspiration struck, here ya go- more sappy, romantic, kinda crazy? For all you Godly of readers/writers and reviewers, Thanks for that, hope this helps someone feel better and you all enjoy. Quotes to live by- "Think like a fox ;)." "It may look black and white, but all things in life can fall into the _Gray._ " "Own Your 'Tics." "Change your perspective and turn a disadvatage into an advantage," … etc...etc…

* * *

 **Valentine's Vampire**

Clawhauser and Nick cringed as they watched Judy stomping around the hall again. Nick leaned over whispering behind the desk "Why does she always get like this on Valentine's day?"

The cheetah shrugged. "Beats me, she's always polite about the gifts, but boy is she in a bad mood all day."

Nick curled his brow thinking back to the first half of the day as he walked into their shared office. Seeing her sitting at the desk that was covered in flowers and thinking about the false smiles she had given to the mammals who had brought them to her still left him curious as to why it was such an issue. Clawhauser had brought her a small carrot cake muffin and she had swooned over it the whole time she was eating the thing. _Has to be the flowers._

"Judy," Nick asked as he leaned over the filing cabinet resting his arm on the top as she looked back at him with a disheartened face. "What is the deal with the flowers?"

Judy cringed as she looked at her desk and deflated. "I'm sorry Nick. It's just a bad memory."

"So explain it to me."

Judy bit her lip in an uncomfortable cringe "Promise you won't laugh or tease me about it?" Nick nodded and she took a breath. "When I was a kit, my mom was really busy and had her paws full a lot of the time so couldn't watch us constantly. My brothers got into a nest of humming birds and by the time I found them two of the babies had already died. I put the other ones back but broke the honeysuckle branches when I climbed into the bush. The next day I went back to check on them and all the birds and the flowers were dead. I just think messing with things like that is wrong. No matter how pretty a flower is if you pick it and put it in a vase it's going to die. I'd be happy getting fake flowers, they are just as pretty anyway."

Nick blinked a few times before he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Well I can see how that would suck all the love out of Valentine's day. Why would I make fun of you for that? I get it, if it's in nature it shouldn't be taken out of where it belongs."

Judy sniffled as she wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks Nick."

After filling out their paper work and ending the day Nick slipped out of the locker room early and made his way to Bogo's office. He peeked around looking for any eyes and ears before he knocked and was met with the word 'Enter'.

Nick strolled in closing the door behind him and Bogo looked up tilting his head as Nick made a hesitant face. "Dad I got a problem."

Bogo raised a brow. It wasn't like any of them to talk to each other as family at work, or for Nick to come to him with a problem. The tod was more than capable of taking care of himself and his own issues most of the time, so the old bull leaned into his desk as Nick sighed.

"Judy has some issues with Valentine's Day and I'm thinking about how to fix it or her but not sure how to go about doing it." When Bogo tilted a brow Nick sighed "Our family is a little odd and hers is more traditional, I don't want to do anything that is going to upset her."

Bogo leaned back grinning "Son, I know we tend to push things when one of us is stuck somewhere, but it's not always a bad thing when we are trying to help each other. You and Finnick getting on again?"

Nick chuckled as he stuck his paws in his pockets "Yeah, he took the job at the D.M.V. and loves it. He's the most popular mammal there because he's faster than everyone else and even met a girl he's been dating for a few months."

"How about him and Judy?" Bogo asked and Nick laughed.

"It's kind of weird, when he moved back in they were really awkward around each other for a few weeks. Now you wouldn't know they never got along."

Bogo grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "See son, pushing someone sometimes isn't a bad thing if you are doing it for the right reasons and the right way. But if you do need to push someone, make sure you do something that works for them and aren't pushing them away from you. You have to find a way for something that would work for her. Change your perspective and see things from her point of view. You know her well enough. What kind of thing can you do to help her?"

When Nick looked off to the corner of the room and one side of his mouth curled to a crooked smile Bogo laughed. "I know that look."

Nick chuckled "You think you can pull everyone together in a few hours to help?"

Bogo nodded as he leaned forward again. "It's Valentine's day, tradition dictates we will always help. She's family now, so tell me what you need son."

After a brief conversation and a few plans made, Nick rushed back to the lobby finding Judy looking around waiting for him.

"Where have you been?"

Nick shrugged "Just talking to Buffalo butt."

Judy narrowed her eyes on her fox" What did you do this time?"

Nick held his paws up shaking his head. _Boy she's grouchy! "_ Whoa whoa! Really I'm not in trouble, just talking." Judy looked him over seeing his honesty and apologized as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Ready for dinner?"

She giggled as she leaned into him, "Yeah, I kinda _want_ to get out of here today." Nick shook his head as he led her to the car. _Wow, she wants to leave work. This really bothers her._

After a romantic candlelit dinner and a few cheesy attempts Nick had made at writing her some kind of poetry they were both walking along the sand on a 'beach' that was located in Sahara square. It was one of Judy's favorite places because even though it was in the city, all the fountains and the way they had the strips set up along the plaza made it look and feel like a tropical beach front. Nick had led her onto a 'dock' that was perched above one to the larger fountains and Judy was grinning looking out over the water in a fountain that always had her imagining she was on a tropical vacation somewhere. He let go of her paw peeking over his shoulder and she furrowed her brow.

"I'll be right back Sweetheart. I have a surprise for you." Judy rolled her eyes and giggled when he smirked and walked away. She was standing on the large open wooden platform when a clamor of feet caught her attention. She turned to find Nick with a beaming smile in front of her holding out a single red rose that was in full bloom. Two small plastic humming birds had been wrapped and tied around its stem, one covered in purple and the other in sparkling green glitter with a bright red ribbon tied into a bow as he held it out to her.

She frowned lowering her brow to a straight line as she shook her head and clenched her fists. "Nick! I told you I hate flo-

"Judy, hear me out alright?" He popped her on the nose lightly with the flower and she flinched as she looked back at him as he leaned closer to her. She had to look around for a second when she finally realized his whole family was standing around her, each of them holding an armful of different kinds of flowers they laid around the couple in a circle. Bogo and Clara, Snarlov and Delgato, even Finnick had come with another small female fennec fox beside him as they all curled around their respective mates watching. _They're all crazy!_

"Dumb bunny," Nick said as his smile grew wider. "You can't let one bad experience keep you from making new happy memories through your life. You are right, most things in nature should be left alone, but there are exceptions to the rule. I'm 'wild' and you _picked_ me. These flowers are grown for this and are no different than the produce your family grows, and Carrots…. you can't expect any guy who is worth their salt to give a _fake flower_ to a _Real Lady_ ," he smiled as her eyes swelled over.

Clara leaned into Bogo and they all watched Nick swipe a tear away before they were locked in a passionate kiss. The cow giggled softly as she looked up into Bogo's eyes "That was a good one dear."

Bogo; Hmmm, it was.

Finnicks girlfriend swooned "Oh that's so cute!"

Delgato's eyes went wide as he shook his head. That little rabbit had ripped him a new one for calling her that at the station in the sparring ring. He gulped as he looked down at Snarlov who had his arm wrapped around his waist. "Should we run?"

Snarlov laughed as he shook his head and pointed back to the fox and rabbit who were lost in each other again. "I don't think she cares right now."

Finnick stuck his arm over his girlfriends shoulder as she kept cooing. "Babe, don't say the 'C' word around the bunny anymore. If she wasn't lost in love right now she's probably break you in half."

None of them could have been more right as Nick pulled away smiling while Judy looked up at him teary eyed. "Think I got that right?"

Judy giggled again as he ran a thumb over her cheek "Yeah, you really did Slick." She held the rose in her paw looking over the glittery humming birds as she sighed and leaned up kissing him again.

Judy would never again have a problem accepting flowers and being truly happy about it. He wrapped around her purring in a tight hug as she curled under his chin. _They're all crazy. I love crazy…._


	5. Chapter 5

**Gagged**

Day one

"AAAHAHAHHH!" All the officers in the lobby turned and blinked as Wolford and Higgins came running from the laundry room at the back of the hall. Each officer went wide eyed as they were followed by a massive wall of soap suds that overtook them and flooded the lobby, sending several officers into a white foam as others laughed and fell to the floor.

"WIIIILDE!"

Day 2

Fangmeyer, Snarlov and Delgato were standing at the desk with Clawhauser when the large tigers ears twitched. Snarlov lifted a brow as he watched Delgato turn and his eyes became slits as his ears pinned back, an ornery grin and exposed teeth as he lifted his claws and curled his back. "Uh Oh."Snarlov said as he looked around.

"What is it?" Clawhauser asked as they all searched the lobby.

"That." Snarlov pointed as Delgato pounced. On the floor was a large remote controlled unidentified stuffed mammal on three wheels the cat started chasing all over the lobby sending any officer within viewing distance rolling on the floor and laughing as the tiger finally caught the toy. Rolling all over the floor purring as he rubbed his cheeks all over it and was tossing it around like a kitten who had a ball of string. Filled with cat-nip his eyes pupils had gone wide as he kept his tail swaying and whiskers twitching when Bogo came out of his office and caught the sight, fighting not to laugh as he screamed.

"WIIILDE!"

Day 3

Bogo was giving out his daily Announcement and all officers were in attendance as he passed off the folders to McHorn. The massive rhino took a stance back beside the bull after passing them out, just as Bogo raised his arm to dismiss the room when he laid his other arm on the side of the podium like he always did at the end of assignments. A ping rang through the room followed by a snap and the rhino blinked as a he was covered in white frosting dripping from a bucket from above where the camera hung from the ceiling. Every officer blinked as the mass of muscles stood frozen and fell out of their chairs as he licked around his muzzle humming.

"WIIILDE!"

Day 4

Clawhauser picked up the phone with his usual bubbly voice and his face went flat as an angelic voice crooned through the line, cut off shortly as it clicked over to the speaker system. "Oh kitty kitty, my sweet toothed kitty, such a pretty kitty, my spotted feline fancy. Will you be my sweet heart, will you be my fan, will you be my darling, come and see my band. I'll dance just for you, swoon you love into the moon, oh pretty kitty, my sweet toothed kitty, the angel with horns will be there for youooo." The rotund cheetah squealed before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he collapsed onto the floor after fainting, hearing Gazelle sing just for him as Bogo narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"WIIILDE!"

Day 5

Bogo washed his paws and stuck them under the sprayer only for the thing to malfunction and spray him in the chest and crotch. The bull turned trying to escape the spray and ended up getting both sides of himself wet, huffing as he made his way to his office. He turned on his personal fan holding it to partially dry himself off before the thing spit several times while he was moving it around and died. The bull shook his head as he tossed it in the trash can grumbling as he made his way to the bull pen. As he opened the door the latch clicked, a bucket that had been balanced on the door tipped over and pink glitter sprayed all the way down his body. He shook himself with a faux frown trying to keep his lip from trembling as he looked himself over, the glitter having stuck to every part that had been wet looked like an outfit Gazelle would wear as his officers gawked and McHorn caught a snicker like he was going to choke before losing his composure completely as Nick fell out of the chair laughing.

"WIIILDE!"

Day 6

Francine sat at her desk in the bull pen throwing her trunk over the top as she listened to the boring segment of stats required by alL the officers each month. The cow sighed opening the top and let out a trump when she saw all the white mice in the top, falling to the floor as the desk tumbled with her, mice flying everywhere as she screamed. The elephant stopped as all the officers looked her over in shock and she picked one of the mice up examining it as she blinked and stuck it in her mouth. "MMM! Peanut butter!"

"WIIILDE!"

Day 7

Every head turned as a large bang was heard and a red blur rushed out of the office covered in something blue and gooey as he slid along the floor trying to catch his balance. Swinging arms and flailing legs as his tail kept arcing in circles trying catch his balance just before he tipped to far to the left and landed on the floor with an 'oomf'.

"WIIILDE!"

Nick looked up grinning as Bogo narrowed his eyes and spun.

"Yes Sir."

The bull turned again before reaching down to the fox and swiping a glob of blueberry off his head, smacking his lip as he shook his head. "Judy, next time use banana, more traction."

"Yes Sir." She giggled as Nick tapped a claw on the floor smirking at her before he stood up slipping on the goo as Bogo tipped a brow.

"Parking Duty."

"Yes Sir." Judy replied as Nick shook his head chuckling.

"I think I created a monster." The fox said as she leaned into him grinning while Bogo laughed as he walked away. "I thought you hated parking duty."

"I do, but I love you and this makes you laugh."

"Keep it up doe and you're going to get it." Nick said as he narrowed his eyes grinning.

"I thought I already had it," she replied as he laughed.

The fox wiped a chunk off his shirt and splat it on her head. "There you go, now you do."

Judy laughed as she leaned in and licked his cheek. "You know you love me _Slick_."

"Do I know that _Mrs._ _ **Wilde**_? Yes, Yes I do." All the officers were shaking their heads and snickering as they kissed each other.


End file.
